Mutt Camp
by twilitprincess
Summary: Orochi is back and this time Amaterasu won't be fighting him: the Canine Warriors will be. But, as it turns out, they're just a pack of mutts! So now, with Amaterasu away, training her son, it's up to Oki to train these crazy canines for what lies ahead.
1. Meet the Mutts

**My second story based on a comic I wrote! It's pretty random, full of plot holes, but it's a good read, at least in my opinion. Kind of serious, kind of comedy. I know it probably won't get a ton of reviews since Okami needs more love, but if you read it and like it make sure to review! Takes place after Okami, before Okamiden (which I am really psyched for!)**

**Also, Chibiterasu's gender is as vague as Ammy's so I just went with boy for some reason. **

"My name is Oki. As you are aware, you have been called to perform a certain duty…"

The blue and red wolf flattened his ears nervously. He had never been in charge of addressing a large group like this. The position he was in made him feel awkward and nervous. He felt extremely hot under his fur. Whether that was from the anxiety of speaking in front of so many people or the warm weather of Taka Pass, he didn't know. He wasn't used to any of it.

Yet, the strangest thing was he _wasn't_ addressing people. Maybe it would have been easier if that were the case. No, he was addressing a bunch of dogs. Eight of them to be exact, all extraordinarily different from one another. Each gazed at him with calm, blank eyes. They all wore colorful bandanas, each with a Japanese character on them.

The largest of the dogs, a scarred hound with a yellow bandana, lifted his snout into the air to address Oki. "We are the eight canine warriors." He spoke in a deep voice that rattled slightly, "We shall hear your words and fulfill any task you require. Now, speak."

Oki searched for something to say. After a long pause, the skin around his nose wrinkled up into a grimace. "…Orochi has returned." He growled quite bluntly. There was no other way to put it. A collective gasp spread through the group.

A husky wearing a blue bandana looked around, unimpressed. "So what? He pulls this stunt every Thursday. Why's it any different now?" The other canines looked slightly ruffled, but calmed down at his words. Oki narrowed his eyes at the husky's sarcastic exaggeration. Yes, Orochi was always finding a way to crawl out of plot holes and such. Every time he managed to come back from the dead, he was always finished off before he could breathe even a puff of smoke. Amaterasu had already fought him four times this month.

Yet, this wolf of the Oina tribe knew what they were dealing with this time around. He narrowed his eyes. "Because Amaterasu isn't going to be the one fighting him. You are." He stated bluntly. The dogs tilted their heads, looking confused and not nearly as serious as they were moments ago.

Oki could feel his face turn red under his fur. "Excuse me for a moment." He said, trying to be dignified as he turned to pad towards two other wolves nearby. One was a beautiful white wolf with elegant markings and a long mane. A swirling mass of fire floated on her back. The end of her tail was tipped with a rich black that shimmered under the sun. The other wolf was almost an exact replica of her, only much smaller. Instead of a mane or colorful weapon, it had a much simpler appearance. Both turned their heads curiously as Oki approached.

The wolf puppy immediately fell into a playful position, his butt in the air, waggling excitedly. He spanked the ground with his paws, inviting the newcomer for a romp. A small green bug hopped into view.

"Remind me why I'm doing this again?" Oki groaned upon arrival.

"Wow. You're really not too thrilled with this plan, are you?" The bug-like creature, Issun, questioned. "Well, Furball here is going to take Mini-Furball on a quest to train for the big sequel."

"Woof!" Chibiterasu confirmed.

"And," Issun continued, "Since Waka is watching over the heavens, Susano is busy with his kid, and I'm going with Ammy, it's up to you to train the canine warriors to defeat Orochi."

Oki sweatdropped. "But why? I can handle Orochi by m-!"

Issun interrupted him with a derisive laugh. "Oh please! We all remember what happened the LAST time you tried to fight Orochi!" Issun screwed up his face and said in a loud, stupid-sounding voice, "Hrrghhh…maybe if I kill everything in sight I'll open the heavens and save the world! Yo Orochi! Come get some! ZAP!" Issun pretended to fall over, holding back sniggers.

"That's not what happened!" Oki barked irritably.

"Yeah, yeah, but you get the basic idea, right? That's why you need to train these mutts!" He waved an arm in the direction of the canine warriors. "And don't even get me started on your epic fail with Nechku…"

With a high-pitched growl, Chibiterasu leaped forward and fixed his tiny jaws around Issun. His mother looked on in amusement, but after a second, nudged him and growled slightly. Chibiterasu opened his mouth and Issun flew back out angrily. "Yuck! Wolf spit!" They had to endure the little bug's complaints for a few more minutes before Issun finally calmed down enough to get back to the point.

"Well since I'm finally done wiping wolf slobber off me, I guess it's time we left…oh! One more word of advice…stay in wolf form! Something tells me these mutts won't take well to the fact that you're half human."

Oki sighed deeply. "Very well." He stared at Amaterasu for a long minute. Then he moved forward and touched his nose to hers. "Have a safe journey." He murmured. She blinked at him sweetly. Then she turned and padded away, her paw prints dotted with flowers. Chibiterasu trotted alongside her, his paw prints scuffing up flower petals. Oki watched them until they disappeared over a ridge.

"Okay, they're gone. Cut the act." Someone whispered from behind him. He turned around, eyes wide, wondering if he had misheard something.

"Act?" He questioned aloud.

"Yeah. Obviously." The husky from earlier said with narrowed eyes. Oki felt a twinge of dislike, but pushed it aside.

Another dog, a boxer, lifted his head from between his paws and yawned. "It would be tiring to act so respectful all the time."

Oki was amazed. The dogs that had been sitting there so dignified a minute ago were suddenly relaxed and not nearly as dignified. The boxer laid his head back onto his paws and closed his eyes. The husky followed suite, but a hyper-looking Shiba Inu pounced onto him playfully and licked the top of his head. Meanwhile a small, white, fluffy dog (a Japanese Spitz) was staring at him with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.

"Well…er…before we start, I'd like to get to know you so if you don't mind…." Oki said slowly, not quite sure of where to start.

"Of course." A large, scarred hound stepped forward. He was a Japanese Fighting dog. The tips of his muzzle, ears, and paws were gray with age, but his body still looked muscular and powerful. His right eye was missing, covered by a white scar. The tip of one of his ears was also slightly torn. He wore a yellow bandana. "My name is Tei. I am the first canine warrior as well as the leader of this noble group, and of course, the best fighter."

_Maybe they were joking about the acting… _Oki thought hopefully, _they certainly seem noble to me…yes, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about._

The dogs, as if on cue, burst into laughter. Tei silenced them with a glare. Oki ignored them, and went to address Tei. "Well Tei, we won't need your leadership here. I'm going to be the one issuing orders."

"Besides," The Shiba Inu piped up, "We all know I'm the best fighter!"

It was then that Tei snapped, completely without warning. "WHAT?" He snarled, rounding on the orange dog, baring his teeth, "I'll kill you! Is this a challenge for the position of Alpha in my pack? WELL? Is it?" The orange dog shrunk away as the angry hound loomed over him. Oki stepped forward, sensing danger. Tei saw him. "I'll take you both on!" He barked furiously.

Oki raised his sword carefully. "Stop fighting and get back in line," He warned, "I'm the one training you to save the world so I'm in charge."

Tei immediately calmed down. "Fine." He growled going to sit back with the other dogs. "I'm still the best!" The Shiba Inu taunted quietly. Taking note of Tei's anger management, Oki moved on with the introductions.

"I'm Rei." A pointer with green markings panted, "I'm the second canine warrior. Do you have any food?"

"I'm Shin." The sleepy boxer said at the same time, "I'm the third canine w…zzz…" He fell asleep without warning.

"Umm…no…" Oki said, looking at the two newly introduced warriors uncertainly.

"Oh! Don't forget me!" The little white dog with the pink bandana exclaimed, prancing over to the blue wolf. "I'm Chi, the fourth canine warrior and the only girl of the group. Aren't I adorable?" She sidled up to Oki, looking suddenly shy. She poked at him with a snow-white paw, "Actually…I had one really important question…" She took a deep breath. "Are you and Amaterasu a couple, is Chibiterasu yours, why did you get together with her, will you dump her for me, can I have your puppies, do you think I'm pretty, why is your fur blue, do you like chicken, do you like that you like chicken, why aren't you answering any of my questions?"

Oki's jaw nearly dropped. He searched his mind for an answer, but came up with nothing. As he figured out some way to deal with this crazy Japanese Spitz, he felt something prodding into his rear end. He turned around to see a fluffy collie sticking his nose up his…butt.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Oki cried out in surprise, pulling away from the collie. The collie sat back on his haunches, tilting his head to the side comically.

"What do you mean what am I doing?" He asked sincerely. He looked at Oki like he was crazy. "He's so weird." Chi whispered under her breath, feeling put out.

_I'm the weird one? _Oki thought angrily, _Oh right, they don't know I'm half human. I need to calm down and be more…doglike._ He silently vowed that he would never stick his nose up another dog's butt. "Never mind, who might you be?" He asked the collie calmly.

The collie grinned, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. "I'm Ko! I'm the…uh…uh…" He counted silently in his head. "I'm the fifth canine warrior!" Ko wore a purple bandana and had a colorful pelt that was a mix of brown, white, and gold.

"And what are your names?" Oki asked, turning to the last three.

An odd breed, a Kai Ken, also known as a tiger dog, raised a paw to speak. "Umm…that really depends."

"Do you want the names we go by or our warrior names?" The husky finished for him.

"The ones you go by will be fine." Oki started to say, but Tei suddenly flared up.

"NO! You're going to go by your true pack names like all the rest of us! Not by some wimpy crap human name!"

"Whatever, you're not leader now." The husky said with a cold smile, "My name is Take, given to me by my sparrow owner. I am the sixth canine warrior. My other name is Gi."

But Tei wasn't done. "Take? Bamboo? What kind of name is Bamboo? You stupid housepets! You don't deserve to be canine warriors! I'll kill you all!" He started foaming at the mouth slightly.

"Don't bother, Tei." Take said in a bored voice, looking unphased, "You may be leader, but all three of us "housepets" could take you on."

"Tei likes to pick fights." The brown dog with black stripes said helpfully, "That's how he got all those scars. Anyways, my name is Hayabusa. It's a long story of how I got that name, but my other name is Chu. I'm the seventh canine warrior. I'm also the hole-digging king of Kamiki Village for digging up turnips…watch this!" His paws moved quickly, scraping at the ground. He dug a hole extremely quickly, then reached in and pulled a pathetic-looking turnip almost out of nowhere.

"Nice!" Ko said, looking on with wide eyes.

"That's, uh, a strange turnip." Take said, refusing to be impressed.

"Is it edible?" Rei asked, licking his lips and drooling. Hayabusa nodded it and Rei ate it in one quick gulp.

"If you're all very well finished I'd like to begin." Oki said, scanning the crowd, making sure he hadn't missed anyone.

"What about Ume?" Hayabusa spoke up.

"Who?"

"Y'know…Ume. Plum. Jin. The last warrior." Hayabusa said, rattling off the different things you could call the Shiba Inu, who had mysteriously disappeared.

_Shoot! _Oki thought, looking around wildly, _There's supposed to be eight! Where's the last one?_

"Oh great," The dogs murmured among themselves, "He probably ran off and got eaten. Again." "Probably. Remember that huge spider?" "And let's not forget that _ginormous_ fish."

Oki ignored this and pushed his nose into the ground, sniffing carefully. The canine warriors just watched. "Don't just sit there! Help me find his scent!" Oki growled, nostrils flaring impatiently.

"What's a scent?" Rei asked, "Shouldn't we be looking for Ume?"

Oki stood there, dumbfounded. "Use your nose!" He said, his respect beginning to drain for these dogs that called themselves warriors.

"A nose?" Ko wondered out loud. He looked cross-eyed at the large, pink tongue that was hanging out of his mouth. "So that's what these pink things are called!"

Oki tried really hard to resist the temptation to run to the nearest stalk of bamboo and bash his head into it repeatedly. "Everyone shut up and listen!" He growled, "Does anyone know a place in this pass where a dog would be in danger of being eaten?"

Every last dog gasped, their eyes as wide as dinner plates. Oki looked at each one of them in turn, waiting for some explanation. They all exchanged a nervous glance, and Tei stepped forward.

"Most say they crawled out of a hole that opened up in the ground…" He began in a deep, rattled voice.

"But no one can be sure, because those who go into their house never come back!" Chi finished for him in a scared, high-pitched squeak.

"They'll eat anything, including dogs." Rei shivered and let loose a whimper.

"When they sleep, they dream of blood." Shin added.

"And they're well-known for cutting the noses off song sparrows!" Ko burst out.

"He means tongues." Take sighed.

"In short, they're pure evil." Hayabusa finished.

"Who are they?" Oki asked, feeling a sense of dread steal over him.

Hayabusa's eyes narrowed. He hesitated for a long moment. Then he opened his snout to whisper hoarsely:

"Mr. and Mrs. Cutter."


	2. Canines vs Cutters

**Second chapter! Thanks for the two reviews. They are much appreciated. This story actually got a few favorites, so as I add more chapters, I hope I get more reviews because it makes me excited to write more! Well, here ya go…**

"Arf! ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF!"

"Shut up you stupid dog!"

Ume scrabbled with his paws at the door that was sealing him inside the dark closet, but it was all in vain. The Cutters were standing right outside the door, regarding him thoughtfully, salivating at the prospect of sinking their teeth into his flesh. At the sharp command from Mrs. Cutter, he shut up and cowered in the corner of the tiny room, wishing they would go away.

"Shall I cut its tongue, dear?" Came Mr. Cutter's muffled voice.

"As soon as I finish sharpening these knives." Was the reply.

Ume buried his snout into his paws and whimpered. Little did he know, outside the dark valley, eight canines were planning his rescue. They sat in a close-knit circle, right outside the entrance, with Oki at the head of it.

"Okay, here's the plan…" The blue wolf began.

Tei shouldered him aside and bellowed, "FULL FRONTAL ATTACK!"

"…No." Oki said irritably. "I have observed the situation from the cliff top and decided on a plan. We're going to divide into three groups—distractions, guards, and rescuers. One Cutter is standing in the yard. Chi and Ko, you will be the ones to distract them. The rest of us will sneak by and enter the house. The guards, which will be Tei, Shin, and Take, will keep watch on the other Cutter, who will hopefully be asleep. Guards, be prepared to fight if necessary. Meanwhile, Rei, Hayabusa, and myself, will search for Ume. This is your opportunity to prove yourselves to me as warriors. Don't mess it up for your sake, as well as Ume's. Now let's do this." He rose to his feet and led everyone through the Cutter's gate, single file.

As soon as they entered the pass between the two cliffs, the sky turned a dark red. Creepy music started to play on the soundtrack. The dogs immediately started panicking. "The sky! It's red!" "S-s-s-scary music!" "We're all gonna die!" Shin lifted his nose to the sky and let out a round of ear-splitting yelps, as if he were announcing that all hope was lost and that the Cutters might as well come and kill them now.

"Be quiet!" Oki snapped, silencing the warriors with a glare. "They'll hear you! You are brave canine warriors. Act like it! So hold your tongue…if you wish to keep it." His last words were a guttural snarl.

Rei, the pointer, froze in place. At first glance, it looked like he was merely pointing, but fear had made him stop mid-step. _W…What?_ He thought, breaking out in a cold sweat (dogs can't sweat, so this took a lot of skill on his part). _I can't lose my tongue! I need my tongue! If I lose my tongue, I'll never be able to eat another table scrap again! NOOOO!_

With that, he turned tail and fled. Oki barely had time to register the white and green blur that flew past him. "What are you doing?" The Oina warrior roared after him, "You fool! Don't you care about losing your honor?"

"Better to lose my honor than my life!" Rei shouted, without looking back. "…Or my tongue!" Another blur, this time black, shot by Oki.

"He's right. I'm outta here!" Shin yelled.

"Cowards!" Oki barked angrily, "You…you…! Grr…" He turned to glare at the remaining dogs, his eyes narrowed dangerously, his lips curled back to reveal his pointed teeth. "Anyone else?" He growled threateningly. No one responded, nor moved for that matter…with the exception of Ko, who moved to hide behind Chi.

Oki sighed. "I'll deal with them later. Right now, our first priority is saving Ume." He turned to continue on, praying silently, _Spirits of the air, earth, and sea…please let this mission be a success…!_

Ko and Chi were the first ones in. Then hid behind some bushes while the others waited to go in after them. Ko nosed his face through the leaves and peered out into the yard, making small rustling noises.

"Shh…" Chi whispered, "Which one is it?"

"It's Mr. Cutter." Ko responded.

"Oh no!" Chi whimpered, "That's the fast, scary one! I'm so afraid…!" She looked at Ko meaningfully, waiting for him to comfort her. He was completely oblivious, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, his eyes calm.

"It'll be fine as long as we run fast and split up to confuse him! Besides, Mrs. Cutter is way scarier. Now come on, they're counting on us." He turned and made his way through the bushes. Chi scrambled after him. They paused in the middle of the yard, only a few yards away from the husband.

He stared at them with an unreadable expression while they stood there, trying to resist the impulse to run away. Then his mouth curled into a creepy grin. "What's this?" He chuckled, speaking slowly, "Two meals…presented to me like a gift…and such delicious-looking dogs…my wife and I are going to feast tonight…hehe. Don't worry, little mutts… I won't kill you until _after_ I've cut your tongues out…and ripped all that fur off…"

Ko opened his mouth to protest being called a mutt, and that he was really a purebred, but Chi shoved him roughly, screaming, "Run for your life!" and the two fluffy dogs turned tail and ran. Mr. Cutter gave chase.

"Run a little slower, you mutts!" He called after them, as they sped around the yard, "I want your fleeesh!" He didn't notice the small group of dogs quietly make their way into his house. Once they got inside, Tei and Take hung back to keep guard. Mrs. Cutter lay in the middle of the floor, dreaming of blood. Oki nodded to them and he and Hayabusa exited.

Tei looked down at the sleeping form of the old lady and growled softly. Take reached over with a white paw and smacked Tei on the nose. "Shut. Up." Take hissed at him. Tei couldn't help but growl in response to this mutiny, quivering with rage.

Meanwhile, Oki and Hayabusa crept down a dark hallway, their noses to the ground, sniffing. "Oki!" Hayabusa said suddenly, "You hear that?" They sat quietly, their ears pricked. In the distance, they could hear a faint, whining noise. At the end of the hall, was a torn curtain, hiding a door. They ran towards it.

"That's him! Come on!" Hayabusa cried out.

The faint whine grew into words as they neared the door. "Oh, I like to eat it every day, and if you ask me why, I'll saaay…an Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-" CRASH! "AUGH!" The door had been locked, but Oki had smashed through it with his sword.

Ume fell out, landing in a heap on top of his two rescuers. "Hey! I'm saved!" The Shiba Inu said in surprise, "You saved me!"

"Get off…" Oki grumbled, from underneath him.

"Uhh…I was only singing that to, y'know, put my tongue to use one last time." Ume said as he climbed off the other two. "But YAY I get to keep it! See? See?" He leaped back onto Oki and licked him enthusiastically, as if to show him what he could do with his tongue. Oki writhed underneath him.

"Get off me and be quiet! We need to get out of here!" He snapped.

Ume sprang off of him lightly, kneading his paws on the ground with excitement. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just…I'M SO HAPPY!" He howled joyously, his last exclamation echoing all over the house.

Back at the front, Tei and Take heard the outburst. Luckily, it didn't wake Mrs. Cutter. "Sounds like they found Jin." Tei said matter-of-factly, "That's too bad. I wanted to have a fight."

Take bared his teeth at Tei. "Just what part of "shut up" do you not understand? Mrs. Cutter is right there!"

"You shut up!" Tei growled, a little louder, "No one talks to me like that, especially not some weakling puppy named Bamboo!"

"How bout I give you that fight you wanted, Tei?" Take snarled.

"Bring it on, _Bambi_!" Tei barked and leaped forward to sink his teeth into the top of Take's head. Take rolled backwards to dodge, grabbing onto Tei's leg with his jaws. They rolled over and over, a snarling, writhing mass of fur.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Oki's cry of outrage filled the room. But before he could do anything, a large black hand was reaching for the two dogs. "Watch out!" Oki shouted, leaping in front of the two fighting dogs, his sword raised. A second later, it clattered to the ground uselessly. Everyone gasped.

There stood Mrs. Cutter, no doubt awoken by the noise. A box on her back was seeping dark spirits, evil little eyes peering out from the shadows. A dark, clawed hand that had reached out now held Oki in its choking grasp. Oki struggled to get away. "Oh, this is a treat!" The granny cackled.

"One of you…throw…the sword! Kutone…!" Oki called desperately. The dogs looked at one another uncertainly. "Throw it!" Those were the last words he had time for before the hand dragged him into the box and it clicked shut.

Mrs. Cutter let loose an insane laugh. "Who's next?"

"Retreat!" The cry swelled throughout the small crowd of dogs and, all together, they made a beeline for the exit of the house. They trampled Mr. Cutter on the way out, who had been standing at the doorway, trying to get Chi and Ko off the roof. They screamed at them to retreat as they ran.

"What?" Chi screeched, leaping off the roof to join them in their mad dash out of the valley. "Wait! Where's Oki!"

"Screw Oki!" Tei snapped, not bothering to look back.

"Oki who?" Ko wondered out loud. Mrs. Cutter was right behind them!

"What about Oki?" Chi screamed over the noise, dodging a swipe of Mrs. Cutter's knife.

"Forget him, we're better of without him anyways!" Tei roared.

"Yeah. Great lump of fur." Take snorted.

"WHAT!" An earth-shaking wolf roar filled the small valley. There was a loud noise like an explosion and Oki came bursting from the box, which shattered into fragments. The look on Mrs. Cutter's face was priceless, just before Oki landed on her back, jumped off, and then came galloping after them. "You wanna come say that to my face?" He shouted in an uncharacteristic burst of rage.

"Run faster!" The dogs were crying out, "Thank God he doesn't have his sword!" "Hey Oki, here's your sword!" Ume said, going back to give Oki his sword. "Ume!" "NO!"

As they finally made it to safety, outside of the valley, Rei and Shin walked up to meet them. "Hey, you're all alive!" Rei said, looking relieved, his stub of a tail wagging back and forth.

"Not for long." Take mumbled just as Oki caught up.

He stopped there, quivering with rage, looking at each dog in turn. His ruby red eyes were blazing with fury. "Stop. Right. There." He managed to say in between snarls. "Never. Never have I seen such a cowardly, pathetic group such as this. Fighting one another when there was a common enemy to defeat…unspeakable!" Tei and Take flinched at this. "And every last one of you fled with your tail between your legs…to think I expected more of you! You're not canine warriors…" His eyes flashed dangerously, as he burst out, "You're _very_ BAD DOGS!"

The group gasped as if he had just slashed them all across the face.

"Bad dog? Bad dog?" Ko whimpered pathetically, "No, I'm not a bad dog, I'm a good dog…" "Nooo! I've never been bad in my life!" Chi cried out. "My heart!" Shin panicked, "My heart is giving out!" Even Tei was whimpering like a scolded puppy!

Oki paused uncertainly. Then Ume got up in his face aggressively, shouting, "Am I a bad dog? Am I a bad dog? THEN KILL ME! Do it! If I'm a bad dog then I deserve to DIEEE!" His eyes rolled back into his head and his mouth started foaming.

"Enough!" Oki howled over the noise. Everyone shut up instantly. "Okay, okay, you're not bad dogs! But you're not warriors either! Which means starting tomorrow, we're beginning a rigorous training process so wake up ready to work! We must prepare you to defeat Orochi….Now come. It's late and I want to make it to the mermaid spring before sundown."

"Mermaid spring?" Take wondered out loud.

"A safe place to rest for the night." Oki responded quietly, "And it'll heal the wounds you sustained."

Take and Tei's ears flattened with shame. Then they limped after him, followed by everyone else, their hearts heavy at what had happened.

By the time they made it to the spring, the sun had just about set. The two dogs that had been fighting earlier now plunged into the shallow spring together and started bathing. They sighed as the water washed over their wounds and closed them up. The other dogs gathered around the pond. Shin curled up and fell asleep almost immediately. Ume and Hayabusa scrambled up onto a rock and stood there importantly. The evening air was fresh and the grass was cool. This was a nice place to rest after an exciting day.

Oki stood off to the side. "Hayabusa." He called softly, "Come."

Hayabusa leaped off, eager to obey any command given by an alpha dog. "What is it?" The tiger-striped dog asked, tilting his head to the side questioningly as he went to meet him.

"If everyone wakes up and I'm not here, you're in charge." Oki said, with a nod. After careful observation throughout the day, he had deemed the 7th canine warrior as the most responsible of them all. With that, he turned and began to walk away.

"Am I allowed to ask where you're going?" He called after him.

"Yes," Oki replied, without looking back, "But that doesn't mean I'll tell you."

Hayabusa stood there confused as Oki disappeared over the hill. Ume pranced over to stand with him. "Any idea where he's off to?" The young dog asked, eyes bright with curiosity.

"Knowing him, probably some big important mission…" Hayabusa whispered in amazement. "Wow…"

Meanwhile…

"Welcome to Sparrow Inn, home of Sasa Sanctuary's famous hot springs! How can I help you?"

"Yeah…I'd like a room for the night. With full service, including the massage."


	3. Nine Tails, Eight Dogs, One Wolf

**Next chapter! I got Okamiden for Easter. I've only beat 4 bosses so far and honestly I'm slightly disappointed. It kind of makes Okami seem pointless...Ammy did all that for only 9 MONTHS of peace? I guess I shouldn't have had such high expectations-after all it's on the DS instead of the Wii. But it's still a great and adorable game even if it doesn't live up to the original so I'd reccommend it (also I know I shouldn' judge it till I finish it but that's just my current opinion-no spoilers if you've finished it please.)**

**Now read and review! I see people favoriting this but not reviewing! Also, happy to say I finished the comic a couple weeks ago so the storyline itself is done. :)**

Back at the camp, the dogs curled up together for the night. Tei slept at the center, being the alpha, while the housepets slept on the outside, since they ranked lower. "Good night!" Each dog said to the other in turn as they huddled together for warmth and drifted off into a good night's sleep.

As the night wore on and the moon passed overhead, the dogs slept deeply, unaware of a dark, looming shape that was creeping up on them. Sharp, clawed paws dug into the ground, and with each step, the grass seemed to die beneath the feet of this beast. Its great number of tails fanned out behind it, swishing through the air. Its red eyes glowed dimly in the dark. It stood only a few feet away from the sleeping mass of hounds, regarding them thoughtfully. An evil smile spread across its face. A deep, quiet laugh filled the darkness as the figure approached the group…

* * *

Rei opened his eyes, blinking them against the early morning sunshine. He stretched luxuriously and let loose a loud yawn. Looking around sleepily, he noted that he was the first one up. He had been awoken by his rumbling stomach, it would seem. He lifted his nose and sniffed at the early morning breeze.

It brought the scent of…

"Fox!" Rei burst out, waking up every dog in the area.

"Fox…?" Shin repeated sleepily.

"Fox?" Ko asked.

"Fox." Chi confirmed.

"Fox…" Take sighed.

"Fox…!" Hayabusa gasped.

"Fox!" Ume yipped.

"FOX!" Tei roared.

And there stood…a deer! Just kidding. Pretty soon, every dog was off running through Taka Pass in a single pack that repeatedly barked the word 'fox.' For it is well known that dogs and foxes have been enemies for a long time, and a pack such as this was unable to resist the allure of hunting a fox.

Just as they disappeared over the horizon, Oki came strolling back from a good night's sleep at Sasa Sanctuary. _What a nice time that was last night…I feel like a new man! Err…wolf. Maybe I can return there tonight?_ He thought fondly of the hot springs, the massages, the comfortable beds… _Well, that aside, I feel ready to take on training these warriors._

"Hey everyone, time to get up!" He barked, entering the clearing that surrounded the mermaid spring. "Today marks the start of boot…camp…" He trailed off at the sight of the deserted spring. _Never mind. _He thought angrily, all of the stress and irritation of the day before rushing back to him. He would not be returning to the sanctuary anymore, it would seem. Just then, he heard a distant, drawn out cry of "Fox!" and went rushing toward it.

About a half mile away, the dogs were gathered in a circle around a clump of bushes. None of them dared to move. Ume was drooling and stammering what was becoming the word of the day. Rei, who had struck a point, hushed him. Tei was in the lead, as always, his head low in an aggressive stance, the fur on his neck standing up. A growl rumbled deep in his throat. The bushes stank of fox. At the sound of Tei's challenge, a little face peeked out of them, a reddish orange face with slanted eyes…

"Canine Warriors…ATTACK!" Tei yowled, leaping forward as the others followed in joyous pursuit. Before he could clear the distance between him and the fox, a long shape hurtled out of nowhere and knocked Tei flat. Then it scooped him up, along with all of the other dogs.

"Well, well, it seems I've found a pack of dogs on the hunt for a fox." A large white fox wearing a painted mask appeared. He had trapped a dog in each of its nine tails except for one, his main one. The dogs were astounded. This was unlike any fox they had ever seen. It was ginormous…it was even bigger than Oki. It had red markings on its sides and a lightning-flecked sword on its back. Each of its tails had a little hood and fox mask on it…one of which had been the face in the bushes. Hey, if Orochi could come crawling out of plot holes then…

The gargantuan fox gave a light laugh. "I'm sorry I'm not what you expected, but seeing as I'm not a very big fan of dogs and I simply haven't eaten for days…I'm going to devour you one by one!"

The poor mutts whined pitifully, struggling to get away. The fox looked on with amusement. "Let's see…" His eyes roved over them, picking out which dog would taste the best. He turned to Ume and opened his jaws. "I think I'll start with you…"

"Well this isn't at all surprising." Ume pointed out as the fox prepared to eat him.

There was the sudden sound of running feet and a snarl of, "Orochi!" to which the fox shouted, "Amaterasu!" and turned to meet the newcomer. The sound of swords scraping filled the air. It was then Oki and the fox finally got a good look at one another.

"You're not Orochi." Oki said, as the fox growled, "You're not Amaterasu."

Oki backed down, his sword still held at the ready. "Well, whoever you are, I can't allow you to eat those dogs. They're destined to fight Orochi, and I must train them for it. So if you decide to kill them right here and now, I promise you'll soon follow."

The masked fox could see he meant it. Yet, this wolf posed no threat. He was barely even half his size! But what he had to say seemed interesting, and since he had nothing better to do… "Relax. I'm not hungry anyways." The fox lied, releasing the eight canine warriors. They all ran to stand behind Oki, cowering. Oki stood his ground, glaring at the fox, who swaggered up to him as if with not a care in the world.

"So! I get it you're new around these parts. In case you didn't know, I'm Ninetails, the Dark Lord of Ryoshima Coast." He boasted, "And you are?"

"…Oki…" Oki said with a glare, not bothering to make up some fancy title.

"Oki? Ha! What a weak-sounding name!" Ninetails taunted, obviously aiming to provoke a fight. "Anyways, I hope you don't mind if I tag along and help train these mutts. After all, I've had a score to settle with Orochi too…" He grinned a sly fox grin.

"No." Oki said bluntly. "I don't know you. I don't trust you. So get lost, _Ninetails_." He wrinkled his nose, trying not to lose his temper.

Ninetails, not wanting to have his game spoiled, narrowed his eyes. He crouched low to the ground and sidled up to Oki. "Oki…" He hissed, "You seem like a smart wolf…so trust me when I say you'd better let me get what I want…because you see…" He grabbed his sword in his teeth, causing it to spark electricity. His tails fanned out behind him, painting blood red lines into the sky. He looked extremely threatening. "I have been blessed with an extraordinary power…power comparable to the gods themselves!" Ninetails bellowed. The dogs were whimpering from somewhere behind Oki. "And unless you want me to release that power…!"

The scary illusion faded and Ninetails sat down, wagging his tails and looking friendly. "You'll let me help train them!" He said playfully, "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Fine!" Oki growled, knowing he couldn't say no after a display like that. "But you'd better not get in the way!"

Tei's jaw dropped. "What? No!"

"But Okiii…" Chi whined.

"He's a fox!" Ko protested. Ninetails opened his mouth to say thank you, but the warriors weren't quite done with what they had to say.

"Foxes are sly and crafty…" Shin murmured.

"You can't trust him!" Take barked bravely, despite the fact that Ninetails was right there.

"H-he might eat us in our sleep!" Rei stammered.

"Oki, I think this is a bad idea." Hayabusa confirmed with a nod.

"I love cheese!" Ume said randomly.

Oki shared their concern. But he knew he had to be brave. Besides, it was easy for them to protest against this decision since they weren't the ones in this position of power. If he said no, they could all end up getting killed. "It doesn't matter." He sighed. "He stays. Besides, he might actually end up coming to be of use to us. Anyways, we must get started…"

A loud grumbling sound filled the air. Rei sat back and clutched at his stomach. "But…" He whimpered, looking at Oki pitifully, "We haven't eaten breakfast yet…"

"You're kidding!" Oki said in disbelief, "Do you want to defeat Orochi or n-!"

"Oki!" Ninetails cut him off, "Can't you see they're starving? They'll function better after they eat. _Then_ you can start." He grinned his sly fox grin once more. He knew how to win points with the dogs. He was going to do whatever he could.

Oki sighed, hoping the dogs weren't as stupid as they came off as. "Well…I suppose you're right." He admitted. "Besides, hunting technique is closely related to battle moves so…" He prepared to launch into a long lecture on techinique, but before he knew it, the dogs were putting on quite a foolish display in front of him. They were eating bamboo! They were digging it up and eating it! Some were even indulging in the mud. What had happened to hunting?

"What are you…doing…?" Oki said in disbelief.

"What's it look like we're doing?" Tei responded grumpily. "We're eating bamboo!"

"And mud." Shin said, licking his lips. "Mmm."

"But…why…?" Oki said as though he couldn't quite understand. Surely these dogs had to be joking. Or else he was with the wrong group of dogs. Maybe there was another pack of dogs just like this one in Taka Pass, eating bamboo while the real pack was away hunting like real canine warriors.

"Don't you know that dogs eat almost anything?" Hayabusa questioned Oki, wondering if _he_ was joking. What canine didn't eat whatever he was offered?

"Yeah!" Ko said happily, "Even our own-!" "EW! Rei, spit Take out!" Chi shrieked, interrupting Ko.

Rei, who had somehow managed to fit half of Take inside his mouth, looked up in surprise. With a loud gagging sound, the pointer spit the husky onto the ground.

"You idiot!" Take snarled as he shook the drool off of him. "What are you thinking?"

"I was wondering if you tasted like Bamboo, but you didn't." Rei said truthfully, "Hey! Do you think Ume tastes like plums?" He headed over and began to devour Ume, who squealed, "Why meee!"

"They're really useless." Oki murmured to himself, "I don't even know where to start with them." Ninetails, who was walking by with a dead rabbit clutched in his jaws paused.

"Ah haffmn mmrrfph!" He told Oki. Oki just stared at him. The fox ate the rabbit in one gulp, and then said, "Sorry. What I was saying was, why not get them a little more excited? Tell them what they're up against. Give them a pep talk."

"I suppose that's a good place to start." Oki said reasonably, "I just don't know what to say to them."

"You'll do fine." Ninetails said with a toothy smile. Then he turned and crept away, his tails swishing back and forth behind him.

_He gives me the creeps._ Oki thought, watching him go. Then he turned to have a word with the warriors…who had all managed to disappear again! "NOW where did they go?" Oki cried out in frustration.

They had somehow managed to escape over a hill, unseen, where they found a little dog that looked like a miniature of Ume. The puppy had the same coloring and curled tail, but was missing the flower pattern that ran along Ume's sides.

"…What is it?" Shin asked, looking at the pup.

"What do you mean 'what is it?'" Tei growled, scouring his claws along Shin's back to teach him a lesson. "It's a dog, you idiot!"

"Sorry!" Shin cried out, flinching away from Tei.

"Ugliest dog I've ever seen." Take stated bluntly.

"No, it's adorable!" Chi argued, fussing over how cute it was. The puppy yipped happily and wagged its curly tai.

"It looks exactly like Ume." Hayabusa said, looking meaningfully as Take, who had just stated how hideous it was. Ume took no notice of the insult, nor the compliment.

"Well duh!" He said, turning to Hayabusa. "All of my sons look like that."

"What?" Hayabusa said, eyes widening. "But I've seen these dogs all over Taka Pass…"

"I get around." Ume said mischievously.

"Found you!" Oki growled, coming up to them. "Breakfast is over! We need to get started. Anymore interruptions and I swear I'll…I'll feed you to Ninetails!"

Well that got them moving! The whole group ended up traveling to the top of a cliff lining the pass. Up there they gathered together in a windblown field. Ninetails rolled around in the grass, flattening it, before he lay down for a quick snooze. Oki ignored the childish behavior and sat everyone down.

"Okay. It has come to my attention that you need to be informed on Orochi's strengths and weaknesses." Oki began, "So here's the deal…Orochi has eight heads, each representing a different element. Fire, Dark, Wind, Water, Lightning, Light, Poison, and Earth. During our time together, I will teach you his attacks. When the battle begins, each of you will take on a head. Oh, and one thing you should know…Orochi's weakness is sake." He didn't know why he bothered mentioning it. It was always of importance in every battle, but he knew they weren't going to be able to use sake in their battle. Maybe it would give them more confidence.

"Sake?" Shin, who had not been paying attention, perked up.

"We're going to get him drunk?" Chi said, as if she couldn't believe it.

Oki forced a smile. "Nope…by then, you'll be able to beat him with pure skill!"

The dogs all started talking at once, excited by the idea of skill. They were so excited, that they seemed to have forgotten they hadn't even started training yet, and were convinced that they had suddenly attained this skill without doing anything at all. Oki swore silently that they would only use sake if there was no hope left. And there didn't seem to be much hope for these dogs that seemed to already think they had all the skill they needed, and training was over.

Ninetails, who had woken up at the joyous clamor of the dogs, sidled over to Oki. "Oki!" He whispered, as if it were some big secret, "Pep talk time!"

"Oh…" Oki said, looking doubtfully at the rowdy mutts. "Uh…you can do the honors."

Ninetails wriggled his whole body with glee. "Really?" He squealed, a little too happily, "Okay! I'll do my best!" He cleared his throat and said…

"All right you mangy mongrels, listen up!" He roared. The dogs immediately shut up and looked at Ninetails with shocked expressions. "When Orochi gets here, you're gonna go in there and rip every single one of his heads off whether you like it or not! But if you go in there and suck and end up dying…I'LL KILL YA!"

At the end of his "pep talk" the dogs just sat there shivering with fear, some holding back tears. Oki rolled his eyes. "If you're quite finished scaring them, I'd like to begin…"

"Just trying to help." Ninetails said, with a frown, as if he couldn't believe his pep talk didn't hype them up the way he had planned.

Oki tossed his head and began to pick his way down the cliff, calling over his shoulder, "Come! We're going on a little field trip."

**Yay! Field trip time! Well, not till the next chapter. **

**Anyways, I know people are divided on the opinion of Ninetails's gender, but I always saw him as a guy so that's what he is in this. I **_**guess**_** I could picture him as a girl too, just like how I don't have a set gender on Shiranui either, but I hold to the fact that he's a guy, even though it's not directly stated and there's proof for both sides. If you see him as a female, then you'll just have to go along with him being a dude in this. :P**


	4. Field Trippin'

**I played Okamiden…kind of disappointed with it, really. Still, it was an adorable game and I liked the characters they introduced. I suppose it was worth playing but I like to pretend it didn't happen since it takes away from Okami a little bit.**

**Anyways please review!**

On the other side of Taka Pass, a great number of dogs were facing off with a great number of moles. All of the moles looked the same except for one, which was much larger and wore blue rather than red. He was looking at each dog in turn, excitement and pride making his face bright.

"Really?" The mole was saying, "You need my help? To train? Oh, thank you! I've been so lonely all by myself. I'm glad I can be of use to you! Moley the Molster is here to help!" He started humming something like a theme song.

"What an idiot." Take hissed under his breath, sitting at the back of the group of dogs, wondering how the heck this mole was "lonely." "He's got a whole bunch of kids living with him."

"Moley the Molester." Ume snickered.

Oki flicked an ear with annoyance at the conversation behind him. "Yes, I'm trying to train them against the elements and your team could work as the earth element…" Oki was saying, "Tell me, can you burrow in a formation in order to create almost…a wave of earth?" He frowned, not quite sure how to describe the way in which Orochi attacked.

"We can do anything!" Moley blurted out, barely able to contain his joy. This was the greatest thing that had happened to him since meeting Amaterasu. "Moley's Molsters…LINE UP!" Moley's questionable friends lined up on either side of them. They burrowed into the ground. Oki looked from the mound of earth to the pack of waiting warriors.

"Okay, I know it's hard to explain, but you'll get it once we've started. The Earth Orochi drives its head into the ground, making almost a miniature earthquake. It spreads out in a fast wave, leaving debris in its wake. If you jump over the tremor quick enough, you will be able to attack the head before it regains its senses. Now, I want you to pretend you're in the same situation right now. Give it all you've got." He turned to the line of moles waiting to spring into action. "Okay, Moley, we're ready!"

Moley stuck his paw out of the ground and gave him a thumbs-up. "Okay, here we come!" He sang out happily.

Oki sprang to a rock behind the line. The moles started rushing towards the dogs, making the earth rumble. "Ready…" Oki called above the sound of ground being torn apart, "Jump!"

All of the dogs missed the cue. Except for one.

Hayabusa cleared the wave of earth in a high, well-placed leap. The others were swept away, buried in the debris with surprised yelps and screams. Hayabusa landed on the ground neatly, dashed forward, and ran right up to Oki. He shoved his face into Oki's, his lips drawn back in an intimidating snarl. Oki didn't budge. He gave a small smile.

"Very good." Oki said, sounding impressed, "And on your first try."

"Thanks!" Hayabusa said, unable to keep his face from breaking out in a big grin. His tail wagged ecstatically.

"Too bad the same can't be said for the others." Oki pointed out, looking at the heap of mud and dogs in the clearing around them.

"Oh…I suppose I'll go dig them out, shall I?" Hayabusa sighed, going over to dig them out. He worked quickly and efficiently. After all, he was the Hole Digging King of Kamiki Village.

"How was that?" Moley asked, popping out of a hole. "Did we do good? Do you want us to do it again?"

"That was very good." Oki said with a nod, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Molester—I mean, er, Molster. But we're done here. Besides, I don't think the wildlife here will be thanking us if we rip out all the grass."

Moley burst into tears. "Wh-Whaaat?" He wailed, "But I get so lonely! Promise you'll come visit!" Oki turned away, ignoring the mole. He waved his arms frantically, bawling, "NOOOO, you have to promiii-!" Ninetails reached over and gobbled up the mole, but no one noticed or cared.

Oki was watching Hayabusa haul everyone out. "Ready to go on another field trip?"

"Another field trip?" Ume said, as Hayabusa grabbed his scruff to pull him out, "Oh boy, oh boy!"

Tei scowled from his position underneath a small pile of rocks. "Oh _joy_." He snarled sarcastically.

At the top of Kusa Village, the pack was now hanging out on top of the tall wooden structure that ran up to the tiny town's windmill. The wind was strong up there, buffeting everyone's fur, chilling them straight to the bone.

"Welcome to Kusa Village's famous windmill," Oki shouted over the sound of creaking windmill and harsh wind, "the maker of the divine wind that sweeps the area. This is the closest thing we're gonna get to Orochi's Wind attack…so make the most of it!" He managed to screw open his eyes wide enough to get a good look at everyone. _They're not listening. _He thought, exasperated.

They were being blown all around, some excited, some scared. Ko and Chi were clinging desperately to one another. Rei was screeching something about a twister. Hayabusa was laying facedown, his claws dug into the wood.

"Everyone calm down!" Oki shouted over the gale. "Plant your feet firmly on the ground and find your center of gravity…"

Take, who had been listening carefully, murmured to himself, "Center your weight…concentrate…"

"Ha! This is easy!" Ko laughed maniacally, even though he could barely stay on the ground, "You call this training?"

Ninetails, who had been resisting the harsh wind with ease, perked up at this statement. He lifted his main tail in the air, freezing time, in the technique that he could use as well as Amaterasu. The dogs were frozen around him. His tail dripped red paint. He swung it through the air, drawing a loop. "I'll give you training…" He said smugly.

Time resumed. The wind was ten times stronger now, screaming through the air, making the windmill shake. The dogs screamed with fear as they were swept clean off their feet and went flying through the air, straight over the edge. Only Take and Oki managed to stay on the ground. As Ume flew by, he reached out and fixed his jaws around Take's tail. The poor husky yelped, his paws scraping for a hold on the floor as he was dragged over the edge with the rest of them. He barely managed to catch the edge and cling there for dear life…

"Ha!" Ninetails laughed over the roaring gale, "You see? You have much yet to l-!"

Oki slammed into his chest, cutting him off. He knocked Ninetails onto his back and held Kutone to his throat. "This isn't divine wind." Oki growled dangerously, "This is your doing! Fix it! NOW."

"Okay, okay, it's fixed!" Ninetails cried out, and the wind calmed down almost immediately.

"You fool!" Oki snapped, "You could have killed us all!"

"Oki…" Take choked out, still holding onto the edge, "A little help here…" Oki turned in surprise at the sound of his voice.

"Oh."

All the dogs had managed not to plummet to their death. Ume had grabbed Take's tail, Hayabusa had grabbed his, and Chi's his, and so on. They were going to need some help getting up.

"I got it…" Ninetails sighed, taking a step forward.

"No." Oki said sternly, "I don't trust you."

Ninetails blinked back a look of hurt. Then his eyes narrowed and he sat there quietly as Oki went to help the others up. He held Take's paws to the ground as each dog climbed up, starting at the bottom and working up.

"Come on, this is good practice!" Oki called down as they struggled to make their way up.

Take squeezed his eyes shut in pain as Rei stepped on his nose, making it to the top. "Please..." he grunted as Shin scrabbled over his face, "No more field trips…"

"Sorry, but…"

It was time for their next training session. The group was standing at the water's edge in Agata Forest. They were standing in an excited huddle, talking amongst themselves.

"Agata Forest!" Ko exclaimed, "Which element are we training with here?"

Tei shot him an angry look. "Water, obviously!" He growled, "Don't you use that brain of yours?"

Ko was going to ask what a brain was, but Chi drew everyone's attention to herself when she cried out dramatically, "Oh, I just _hate_ getting my fur wet!" She covered her face with her little white paws and sighed tearfully. Some of the male dogs rolled their eyes.

Hayabusa was looking at Ume, concern etched into his expression. "Hey, Ume, are you…feeling okay?"

Ume's eyes were extremely wide. He was shaking uncontrollably and drool pooled at the sides of his mouth. His legs were spread in an awkward position. He was quite a sight to see, but it was tough telling what was on his mind. "My owner lives here!" He burst out, scattering flecks of spit onto the other dogs, "He's so amazing! Oh please can we go see him? Oh please oh please oh please!"

Oki grimaced. "_No_. We have work to do." Ume opened his mouth to whine, but before he could, Oki ordered, "Everyone, into the water!" The Shiba Inu forgot what he had been about to say in a rush of excitement as he, Hayabusa, Take, and Ko piled into the water. A satisfying splash was the result of this. The dogs barked with excitement, leaping about and soaking one another.

"Don't look so happy!" Oki said, feeling annoyed, "This is training! And why aren't you guys in the water?" He rounded on the other four. They all flinched, for they had stupidly been hoping he would notice only half of them had obeyed his command.

Chi was the first one to speak up. "I don't care what you say Oki, I'm _not_ getting my fur wet!"

"Uh…I just ate…so, er, cramps…" Rei said, making something up on the spot.

Shin had fallen asleep again.

"What's your excuse?" Oki said, baring his teeth at Tei.

Tei turned away angrily. "I can't swim, all right?" He growled, "Get a drop of water on me and I'll…I'll rip your throat out!" The words were meant for everyone rather than Oki. Tei was not one to be trifled with.

Chi smirked. She delicately stuck a paw into the water, and in one quick movement, splashed a small amount at Tei. His eyes widened in surprise. "Oops!" She giggled, "You wouldn't hurt a girl, now would you?"

Back in the water, the four other dogs were having quite a good time. Ko's long, shaggy fur was soaked, and hung in his face, covering his eyes. He looked quite comical. "Dude!" He said, trying to shake the fur out of his face, "Let's have a race!"

"Yeah!" Hayabusa agreed, eyes wide with excitement.

Even the usually-sarcastic Take was pumped. "Ha!" He laughed, "Just try to beat me!"

"OKAY!" Ume burst out, shooting away from the group, through the water, "Ready, set, GO!"

"Ume!" The others cried out, splashing after him, "Cheater!"

He cackled gleefully, doggy-paddling quickly away from the others. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him. He looked up in surprise. His eyes locked with a giant fish, a fish said to have eaten the moon…his name…

Whopper. (insert dramatic music here)

Ume screamed in pure terror. The fish opened its mouth, but it was too slow. Ume was speeding away from it, faster than the speed of Orca.

"Dang, that dog is fast!" Hayabusa noted, all of them having retreated to the shore. "He swims like an Otterhound!"

"I never heard of Shiba Inus swimming so well…" Take sniffed, thinking to himself that huskies were far superior at anything. Maybe Ume could swim, but he could never pull a sled.

"Think that fish will give me his autograph?" Ko asked in all seriousness.

"Phew!" Ume said, springing out of the water to land among his peers. "Made it."

"I must say, I'm very impressed." Oki rumbled in a deep voice. "Already we've uncovered that three of you are compatible with separate elements. In fact, the three are the "housepets" of the group. This is very good. You all deserve a break. Go find something to eat for dinner."

The Canine Warriors cheered. Ume turned and ran off, shouting, "I'm gonna go find my owner!" The others watched him go.

"Don't you think you should eat first…?" Hayabusa said reasonably, but Ume was already gone. Tei stood up and walked importantly over to Oki.

"Oki, I need to talk to you." He told the wolf.

"What is it, Tei?" Oki said, raising his eyebrows.

Tei suddenly lost his tough exterior and looked uncertain. "Um…those housepets…they're actually the strongest of us…" He looked away, as if ashamed. Oki couldn't help but feel the slightest twinge of amusement. He had noticed the potential of housepets almost instantly. Hearing Tei admit they were strong when he was always criticizing them gave Oki a feeling of satisfaction.

Still, Tei seemed upset when he went on to say, "I'm a failure as their leader…after those three left, we pretty much broke apart. I should have tried harder to keep us together, but I didn't. I kept fighting whatever I came across to "train." The rest went about their own lazy lifestyles, but still I did nothing. As for the warriors that had left us…they lived their lives to the fullest. They were not housepets, they were true canine warriors. Gi lived in Sasa Sanctuary, training with its resident tigers. Chu took on the duty of protecting a child and he saved the boy's life. Jin's life was saved by a man and he's been going on adventures with the son everyday since then."

Oki listened in silence. Tei paused, waiting for some sort of reaction. "…Why are you telling me this?" Oki said simply.

"I'm telling you this so you won't expect any great feats from the rest of us." Tei said ruefully.

Oki gave a small snort. "That's too bad. I'm still expecting it."

"Huh?"

"We're all here, training together. We're all going to prove our worth, no matter what."

Tei's face darkened. "Your wisdom is pissing me off…" He growled under his breath.

"But why do you treat those three with such hostility?" Oki asked, "Is it that you're jealous?" He knew he shouldn't have said it, but he wasn't going to sugarcoat things for a dog like Tei.

"Er…well it's not like I'd ever get to do any of that stuff." Tei said regretfully, "No one would ever adopt a beaten old mutt like me…" He trailed off. Then he shook his head angrily and stomped off, snarling, "Arrgh! I'm gonna go get something to eat!" And with that, he slinked away, head down, tail between his legs.


	5. Nineo Saves the Day!

**Haha I like this chapter. Please review! And Nineo is pronounced "Nine-E-Yo!" just because.**

Now the dogs gathered around Ninetails, who had managed to catch Whopper. They were having a great feast. "Wow, Ninetails, thanks!" They all said, "You're a fishing master!" Ko stood by with a paper and pen, looking disappointed.

Ninetails rolled his bright yellow eyes. "Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it. You're gonna have to hunt sooner or later." In the distance, they could hear the high-pitched barking of a dog. Ninetails grumbled, "You can hear that pup yap from the other side of the lake…"

Someone else had heard the crazed barking of the Shiba Inu while they were fishing. It was none other than Kokari. "Huh?" The rabbit-hatted boy wondered aloud, "Ume?" Then he spotted the orange dog racing towards him along the lakeshore.

"Arf!"

"Ume!"

The boy threw the fishing rod down and raced to embrace his dog. It was like a scene from a corny movie. "Aw, I missed you buddy!" Kokari cried out, burying his face into the dog's fur. Ume panted happily, reveling in the time he spent with his master. He reached forward and poked his nose into Kokari's stomach. The boy laughed. Then Ume gripped part of his shirt in his teeth and tugged.

Kokari stood back. "Huh? Is there something you wanna show me, boy?" Ume pulled at his shirt urgently. Then he led him back to where the others were.

"Wowww!" Kokari gasped when he saw them.

Ume yipped joyously. Hayabusa padded over, eyes friendly, tail wagging. Kokari patted him on the head. "Hey, it's Mushi's dog!" He exclaimed, "Who knew you had this many friends? Look, a blue wolf!" Oki's ears flattened and he backed away, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Kokari didn't notice this and waved, "Hi Blue Wolf! You remind me a lot of that white one that fought Ume!"

Oki narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything. Since he was part human, he didn't know whether Kokari would understand him or not if he spoke. Usually both dogs and humans could understand him, so it was better not to take the risk.

"By the way," Ume bragged, "my owner's name is Kokari and he's a human, unlike Take's weird owner."

"Shut up." Take scowled. He didn't even _like_ his owner. Ume was acting like an annoying, boastful puppy. The husky bit back the urge to claw the pup's ears off.

Ninetails was watching the scene with interest. He was salivating and licking his lips. "A human. I love humans." He said in a strange voice.

"Really?" Ko said, eyes bright, "Me too!"

"Ko, I don't think Ninetails means that in the way you think…" Chi said, a shiver running up her spine.

Oki walked up to Ume and whispered, "Ume, it's getting late. We need to go. Say goodbye to Kokari."

"What?" Ume exclaimed, "But he just got here!" Oki glared at him with his piercing red eyes. Ume whimpered submissively and tucked his tail between his legs. Kokari noticed this.

"Ume?"

Ume whimpered again in response.

"Don't forget about the mission, Ume." Hayabusa murmured in his ear comfortingly, "Besides, it's not as if you won't see him again."

"Oki wouldn't understand anyways." Take muttered softly, suddenly feeling the need to stick up for his fellow housepet. "He's probably never even smelled a human."

_Ohh, irony._ Oki thought, feeling irritated.

"Do you have to go now, boy?" Kokari asked, at the sad look on his dog's face.

Ume whined and licked the boy's hand.

Kokari started crying loudly. "Wahhh! Nooo, Ume!" He bawled. Ume turned and moved away silently, going to join the others. Kokari kept fussing and wailing. Ninetails crouched on the ground, his great number of tails swishing back and forth angrily.

"Quit cryin' kid!" He growled threateningly, "Or I'll really give ya somethin' ta cry about!" He grinned, showing all of his teeth.

"Come on, come on, we're leaving." Take said as everyone moved off. Ninetails may have eaten Moley and Whopper, but he wouldn't be eating Kokari today.

* * *

Back at the Mermaid Spring…

"Okay, tonight we're going to bed early so we can wake up early and hunt tomorrow. I want there to be watches tonight. We'll start with Tei, then Rei, Shin, and go in order from there. Any questions?"

Hayabusa and Shin raised their paws. "Yeah…what about the rest of the elements?" "And why are we keeping watch?"

"I'm sorry." Oki admitted, "I really have no idea how I'm going to train you against the other elements. We'll just have to make do with basic combat practice for now. As for why there's going to be someone on watch…" He wrinkled his nose in the faintest hint of a snarl. His eyes gleamed angrily. "Well, why do you think that is?"

Everyone gulped and shot quick glances at Ninetails. But he wasn't paying attention. "Hey, look! It's a clear night! Did you know I can turn into a constellation? And create illusions to mess with people? Let's play a game—I'll create illusions and try to kill you while you—oh sorry, are we going to sleep now? I'll be quiet."

He grinned. Everyone smiled back nervously. Except for Oki. The wolf stood up, glowering. "_You're_ going to sleep over there!" He said, flicking his tail towards a nearby hill, a good distance away from the rest of them. It was well within view of the spring, just like Oki wanted.

Ninetails lowered his head sadly. "Oh…right…" he said, looking downcast. Then he turned and slinked away, head bowed. "See you tomorrow, then." He sighed.

"I don't think you should say things like that to him." Chi whispered, even after he was gone. "He might kill us in our sleep."

Oki tossed his head proudly. "An old, downcast fox is no threat to me. Now let's get some sleep."

* * *

The gibbous moon was high in the sky, casting what light it could into the pass. Curled up on a moonlit hill was a large figure with many tails, obviously, Ninetails. The night was chill, but the kitsune was snugly wrapped in the heap of his tails. His sword was laid in the grass next to him. He grunted in his sleep, his paws twitching, his nose wrinkling in the beginnings of a snarl.

"NO," He growled, lost in a dream, "The steak sauce is MINE." Suddenly, he snapped awake with a cry of outrage. Then he sat there, feeling confused and a bit flustered as to what had just happened. Not far away, he heard footsteps. It was then that he spotted a small dog picking its way along another hill, away from everyone else.

"Oh, it's that runt, Ume. I wonder where he's off to at this hour?" Ninetails wondered aloud. Then he stood up, and began to follow him, muttering, "Since I'm curious…"

"Yeah, you should totally follow him. And then you should eat him!" A voice inside his head seemed to say.

"No!" A different voice argued, "You should leave him alone and go right back to sleep!"

He sighed. "Oh great, tail-devil, tail-angel." He often had these internal arguments with himself. One could refer to them as shoulder-devil, shoulder-angel arguments, but he liked to imagine that the little faces on his tails were doing the talking. The devil side of him usually won, but not tonight it wouldn't!

Still, as he walked on, his mind raged, "Eat him!" "Don't eat him!" "Eat him!" "Don't eat him!" He glared back at his mess of tails. One face in particular had a smug smile on its face and he felt as if it were taunting him.

"How bout we just eat you?" Ninetails snarled, rounding on his own tail and pouncing on it. He caught it in his jaws and bit down, hard.

There was a long pause. Then,

"Yeeeoowwwch!"

Oki opened an eye, grunting tiredly. Suddenly, he was wide-awake and on his feet, saying, "Ume's gone!"

The other dogs stirred sleepily around him. "Everyone wake up!" He shouted, pacing back and forth through their ranks. "Ume's missing! Who had watch?"

"Uh…" Shin's ears flattened to his skull, his eyes wide with guilt.

"I should have figured," Oki snapped, "C'mon, we must find him before something else does!"

"Oki!" Hayabusa called urgently, "Ninetails is gone too." Everyone turned to look at the abandoned hillside on which Ninetails had been slumbering. The only thing there now was his sword.

Oki stood there, trembling, his insides filling with a terrible dread. "…No." He whispered.

On the other side of the pass, Ume was sniffing around a small forest of bamboo. "Ughh…I'm so hungry." Ume whined, wanting to go back to sleep, but at the same time too hungry to do so. "Should have eaten dinner…." He sighed. He regretted not eating like Hayabusa had told him to, but there was no way he could have gone without seeing his owner. Luckily, his nose caught the scent of prey. A monkey was dozing at the top of a small, stunted tree, mere feet from his reach.

_Ooh, food!_ Ume thought enthusiastically, licking his lips, _But how do I get to it? I can't even hunt…hmm…one word: instinct!_ So he did what his instinct told him to do.

He stood at the bottom of the tree and barked his head off at the thing.

The monkey didn't even bother to spare him a glance. It just shifted its position and went back to sleep. Ume kept barking, unaware of the attention he was drawing to himself. A shadow was moving in, hidden well within the shadows of the bamboo. The softest of growls alerted the Shiba Inu to this new presence.

"Huh?" He said, pausing to look into the bamboo. Two bright green eyes were peering back at him. He barely had time to react. With a roar, the gigantic tiger leaped from its hiding place, straight for Ume. The dog yelped and fell backwards, preparing to feel teeth pierce his throat.

Without warning, another huge shape hurtled out of nowhere, throwing itself into the tiger's path. It was Ninetails! The tiger leaped backwards, out of the way of this newcomer and snarled a challenge. Ninetails reared up on his hind legs and roared, as best as a fox could roar. The tiger crouched low, lashing its tail, not the least bit intimidated by its foe. Ume stood there, gawking at the sheer epicness of the scene in front of him. "Whoa…" He said in a hushed voice.

On a nearby hill, Oki stood with the Canine Warriors. None of them could believe what they had witnessed. Even Oki was speechless.

"OMG!" Chi gasped, "Did you see that?"

Shin was squinting his eyes. "I must be seeing things…" He muttered, "Please tell me that's an illusion."

Take refused to be impressed. He turned his attention elsewhere, and shouted down the hill to Ume, "Yo, Ume! Get up here ya dumb dog!"

Ume awoke from his stupor and came charging up the hill, looking flustered. "Okay, okay, no need to be so rude!" He said huffily, shooting a look at Take, who ignored it.

"Guys, look!" Hayabusa said, making them turn back to watch the events unfold between the tiger and Ninetails.

The great cat had sprung, digging its fangs into the side of Ninetails's face, which was protected by his mask. It scoured its claws down the middle of his forehead all the way to his nose, but they barely left a scratch on the smooth surface. Ninetails swatted at his attacker with his paw, got a grip, and took the opportunity to latch onto the tiger's throat.

The two became a furry whirlwind of hissing and snarling. The tiger managed to pull away and slashed at Ninetails's face. Ninetails, whose mouth had been opened in a screech of fury, suddenly reeled back in surprise, blood scattering from him in droplets. The Dark Lord had had enough. He bared bloodstained teeth at the feline and threw it off in one motion, sending it flying through the air. Of course, the tiger landed on its feet, and was just bunching its hindquarters, ready to attack again when…

It was suddenly covered in a dozen cuts, spilling massive amounts of blood everywhere. Just like that, it had happened. Ninetails hadn't even touched it. The cuts had appeared there, instantly. The tiger stood with a look of shock for about five seconds before it fell onto its side and lay there, unmoving.

Ninetails waved his main tail, tipped with paint, approvingly. It was clear now…he had frozen time and killed the great cat with his brush techniques. It had happened instantly in the eyes of the warriors. But they couldn't believe it.

"Oki…" Chi whimpered, truly afraid, "What just…?" She trailed off, her tail quivering uncontrollably, her eyes wide.

"Did I miss something?" Ko wondered out loud, confused.

Oki narrowed his eyes. "Now you see why Ninetails is to be feared…" Everyone gulped. The kitsune looked fearful enough, with his mouth covered in blood, and the body of the tiger at his feet. "When one harbors such power, they must choose to become good or evil. It is a decision that can affect many fates, even the world." Oki finished wisely.

Some of the dogs nodded in response. Ko tilted his head, looking embarrassed, muttering, "Say that a little slower…" Hayabusa met Oki's eyes calmly. "Oki…do you think people like that change?" He said, putting voice to everyone's thoughts.

Oki glanced at Ninetails, who was making his way towards him. "…Maybe."

"Hey Ninetails, Ninetails! Thanks for saving my life back there!" Ume yipped happily, prancing over to his savior, tail wagging.

Ninetails puffed out his chest importantly. "Eh, it was nothin' kid." The fox gave a sudden cough, sending blood droplets flying out of his mouth. Some landed on Ume, who started to freak out and run in circles, saying "Arrgh! Ninetails is bleeding internally! Someone help! We're all gonna dieee!"

"Or it would have been nothing if I'd had my sword." He said, blinking down at the blood dripping out of his mouth.

"Okiii!" Ume whined, racing over to the wolf in a panic.

Oki calmly made his way over and stood, looking up at Ninetails with a not-so-concerned expression. He was merely humoring Ume. Ninetails knew this, but reassured him, "No, it's fine. My tongue just got clawed, see?" Ninetails stuck out his tongue, looking at it cross-eyed. A large, bloody scratch covered it. Luckily for him, it was already healing. Being such a powerful beast had its perks.

"Enough talk. We need to get our sleep." Oki said, even though no one had been talking.

"Let's head back." The dogs all agreed. "Good idea." Ninetails said, and they started on back to the pond. As they went, Ume was scampering alongside Ninetails, acting hyper.

"So Ninetails, now that we're best friends…"

"Uh, we're not."

"You need a cool nickname like Tail-Dawg!"

"Tail-Dawg? What am I, some kind of gangster?"

"Hmm…then how about Nineo?"

"Just call me Ninetails…"


	6. Hunting Party Time

**The remark Rei makes about "meeting the nicest girl" and "don't even get me started on her sister" was an inside joke. I have two dogs, both pointers like Rei, and they're sisters. The one is a sweetheart…the other one is nutso. :P The nomnomnom is a joke too. I had a friend that yelled at me once for not saying "om."**

The Next Day!

"Everyone wake up! We're going hunting today whether you like it or not!" Oki shouted, nudging every dog awake.

"Awww!" They whined as they sat up, rubbing their eyes with their paws.

"Don't give me that crap." Oki growled, "I thought of a way to make it fun. We're going to have a friendly competition to see who can catch the best breakfast. Split up into groups of 3. I'll join one to make it even. Now let me go over the basics…"

As soon as they heard the word 'competition' every dog had perked up. The rest of the words had been lost on them. "Competition…" Tei growled, his eyes gleaming. "Chi, will you be on my team?" Ko asked, tongue lolling as usual. Chi was too busy swooning. "I hope I get on Oki's team." She giggled. "We need a ref so no one cheats." Take pointed out. "Looks like we have one." Hayabusa said, nodding towards Ninetails, who had somehow managed to acquire referee-striped hoods for his little tail-faces overnight.

"That's right!" The fox said proudly, "So you'd better play fair!" He looked extremely happy. Oki had gone on to explain the basics of hunting, but no one was listening, except for Ko, who was having a brain overload because of all the information Oki was giving them. Everyone else was sorting out the teams.

Take, Hayabusa, and Ume had put their paws together, chanting "Go Team Housepet!" Shin and Rei had teamed up, but Rei pointed out, "We need one more." So they waited for someone else to join them.

"Oki," Tei said, when the wolf was finally finished talking, "if you don't mind, I'd like to be in your group so I can observe your hunting technique."

"Oh, uh, sure." Oki said, feeling a little bit taken aback.

"Can I be in your group too?" Chi said, coming over to stand beside Oki.

"Of course." Oki rumbled, pleased that the others were showing interest.

Chi nearly fainted with happiness.

"I guess you're with us then." Shin said, grinning at Ko.

Ko looked really upset, almost insulted. "But…but me and Chi…!" He had been looking forward to teaming up with her again.

"Don't let it bother you, bro." Rei said, matter-of-factly, "I met the nicest girl once, but it just didn't work out. Don't even get me started on her sister."

Ko opened his mouth to protest that he didn't like Chi that way, but Ninetails interrupted all conversations, saying loudly, "Well, you'd better leave before I end up eating Ume!" His stomach growled loudly, confirming their departure.

Oki put his sword down on the ground, next to Ninetails's blade. "Err…meet back here in exactly an hour. Good luck!" He said.

With that, 'Team Housepet,' took off, speeding away with excited barking and howling. Tei growled under his breath at this display of idiocy. With that noise, they would scare away all the prey from here to Kamiki.

Chi wriggled with glee, watching them go. "Come on, Oki, let's go!" She said breathlessly, preparing to run too.

"Patience, Chi." Oki said, looking relaxed. "What can you scent?"

She lifted her nose and sniffed delicately. "Um, dogs?" She guessed.

"I smell sparrows in the trees and a tribe of monkeys up that hill over there." Tei said importantly, his chest thrust forward with pride. Chi rolled her eyes.

"Very good." Oki praised him. "Shall we pay them a visit?"

Meanwhile…

The group consisting of Shin, Rei, and Ko trudged along the edge of the pass uncertainly. "So…any idea on what the heck we're doing?" Ko asked. "Nope!" The other two responded.

After walking quite a ways, they came across a dead baby boar. "Look!" Rei exclaimed, his stubby tail wagging ecstatically, "Food!" The baby boar lay in a dusty-looking heap. It was covered with flies and looked like it had been dead for a good while. "Let's take this back to camp."

"Are you kidding?" Shin grimaced. "You'll die if you eat that…but we could always feed it to Ninetails." He looked thoughtful, as if he were actually considering the idea.

Ko, meanwhile, was looking quite nervous, dancing around on his paws as if the ground were made of hot lava. "No, we can't!" He whined, "Ninetails is watching us so we need to hunt for some real food!"

"We're on the other side of Taka Pass." Shin retorted, "He can't watch us when he's back at camp."

"Don't underestimate Ninetails!" Ko snapped, "Besides, we'd have to bring our finds back to camp and then Oki would see we slacked off!"

That convinced the other two. "Ohh, fine, let's go." Rei said, casting a sorry glance at the dead boar as he walked away. Ko followed him, but Shin stood there, looking alarmed.

"C'mon, let's check over here…" Ko started to say, but Shin burst out, "W…W…WAIT! It's another one!"

There stood a live boar piglet, one that had just appeared from some bushes. It looked at the dogs with wide, wondering eyes. The dogs proceeded to freak.

They yelped, "It's a live one! What do we do, what do we dooo!" And then scattered like a bunch of scared rodents. The pig just watched them go. In the frenzy, Ko was seized by something he had never experienced before…a sudden scrap of reason.

_What are we doing?_ He asked himself, _We're dogs…canine warriors, even! We can handle a little boar piglet. It's our prey! We OWN it! We can take it on, no problem. That's why…that's why…I…_

"I'm going to prove to Chi that I'm a true canine warrior!" Ko roared dramatically, springing forward.

"No, Ko!" Rei howled, "You're too young to die!"

The piglet squealed with fear as Ko snatched it right up and broke its neck with a swift, well-aimed bite. The collie stood there with the body in its mouth, just as a red fox came leaping over a large rock and scratched him across the face. Ko yelped at the unexpected pain.

"I saw it first!" The fox hissed.

"I don't care if you saw it first," Ko growled, muffled by the prey in his jaws, "I caught it, it's mine!"

"Get away from him!" Rei barked, tackling the fox. The fox flew backwards into the rock with a loud thud. Shin sprang forward and bit its throat for good measure.

Ko gave a muffled thanks to the other two.

"There." Rei said, feeling brave, "That's what you get for trying to steal our prey."

"I hope you learned your lesson." Shin told the fox.

The fox lay at the base of the rock, unmoving, its chest stained with red.

"Frmey…rwe dijdn't…?" Ko said through the pig's fur.

"No…we couldn't…" Rei whispered, wide-eyed.

"We did!" Shin burst out tearfully, "We killed a fox! Ninetails will murder us for this!"

"It's your fault!" Rei said heatedly, "You shouldn't have bitten him when he was down!"

"My fault?" Shin cried out in disbelief at his friend's accusation, "You're the one who threw him into that rock—I bet that's what killed him!"

Ko watched them argue, his cheek stinging with pain, his nose stained with blood. Then he spit the prey out so that he could actually talk. "Calm down." He told the others, sensibly, "Oki won't let him hurt us."

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Rei said, as if he just realized Oki's existence. "Well, we'd better get back late just in case."

Shin turned to look at Ko approvingly. "I think that's the smartest thing I've heard all day!" He said happily.

Ko grinned. "I know. Hey look, there's red stuff on my nose! Is it Kool-Aid?"

They ignored him and began to make their way back. "C'mon, let's stall on the way back." "Fine by me. You grab the boar?" "Yush!"

As soon as they were gone, the fox sat up, looking down with disgust. "Aw man, I spilled my Kool-Aid EVERYWHERE."

In a different area of Taka...

"Psst…I'm in position. Agent Bamboo, do you copy? Over."

"Uhh…you really don't need to do that. And call me Take, okay?"

Ume popped out of the bushes he was hiding in, shooting an angry glance at Take, who was crouched behind a rock a couple feet away. "Bamboo!" He whispered in all seriousness, "It doesn't work unless you say over!"

"If you don't watch it, _Agent Plum_," Take growled sarcastically, "You're life will be ov-!"

"Shh, here they come!" Ume hissed and quickly ducked back into his clump of bushes. Take flattened his ears and tensed his muscles. In the distance came the galloping of hooves and a crescendo of barking. Here came Hayabusa, running alongside a large white-tailed buck, steering him in the direction of the other dogs. "Get ready guys!" The striped dog called to them.

As soon as the buck crossed between the rock and the clump of bushes, the two other dogs sprang at him. Ume leapt in front of him, cutting him off while Take dived to knock him off his feet. The buck skidded to a halt. Hayabusa launched himself into the air, clamping down on the deer's neck. He ended it quickly. The deer lay on the ground and he held it there by the throat, making sure it was dead.

"We did it!" Ume yipped happily, jumping to stand on his hind legs. "Go Team Housepet!"

"Come on, let's hurry up and try to be the first ones back…" Take said, itching to get back to the camp.

Not too far off, the last group was hauling in their prey. They looked quite satisfied with themselves. "Good job catching that sparrow, Tei!" Chi exclaimed, wagging her plume of a tail, "I didn't know a dog could jump like that!"

"Eh, you didn't do too bad yourself, Chi." Tei said, giving out a rare compliment. "Even though we _still _haven't gotten to see Oki hunt for ourselves." He glanced meaningfully at Oki, who was padding along ahead of them. He clutched a sparrow and a monkey in his mouth, the day's catch. He didn't even bother to look back at Tei's rude comment.

"Oki doesn't have to show us if he doesn't want to!" Chi said, sticking up for Oki.

"Why?" Tei growled, "Is he too afraid to do anything without his sword?"

"Oki doesn't hunt with his sword because is gives him an unfair advantage!" Chi said uncertainly, secretly wishing she could see Oki hunt too.

"Oh really?" Tei chortled, feeling victorious, "Well then…let's see him take on that horse!" He nodded to a black horse that was grazing peacefully not far off.

At this, Oki spit out his mouthful of prey. "Wolves aren't meant to fight horses."

Chi frowned. "Oh, but what about that one story…the wolf outsmarted the horse and beat it!"

"You're kidding, right?" Tei snorted. "The horse kicked the crap outta the wolf! Just like how that horse could probably kick the crap outta Oki!"

"Tei…" Oki sighed, "Someday, I hope you have the intelligence to never, ever pick a fight with a wolf."

Tei stopped in midstride, dumbfounded that someone would talk down to him like that, much less Oki. Chi giggled. "What's so funny?" He snapped at the female dog. Just then, they arrived back at the mermaid spring. Rei ran up to meet them, looking relieved.

"Oh you're back! Finally!" "Oki's back! That's all of us!" "Oki, come add your catch to the pile!" All of the dogs were talking excitedly.

Chi strutted on up to Take and said with a flourish, "Excuse me but, Oki's catch? Aren't you forgetting someone?"

Take smirked. "Don't act so high and mighty. Look at the food pile if you want to see a _real_ catch."

She rolled her eyes then looked to the food pile. Her jaw dropped open. "What the-?"

"Tadaaa!" Ume sang out. Hayabusa grabbed the buck by the antlers and held its head up for everyone to get a better look. All three of them had triumphant grins.

Chi tried not to look so ruffled by this. "W-w-well…we should win because we learned the most!"

Take leaned toward her as if trying to intimidate, his eyes narrowed with amusement. "Ha! What does that have to do with anything? _We_ should win because we made the best kill!"

Ko spoke up, "We should win because we had to fight a f-!" Rei and Shin cried out, "Shhh!" and leaped on him, silencing him just in time. Ninetails was looking at them curiously.

"Ferret!" Shin said quickly, holding his paw over Ko's mouth, "We fought a ferret, it's true!"

"Please don't eat us!" Rei whimpered.

Ninetails sweatdropped. "Calm down. I saw you fighting the fox, but I'm not mad. Sheesh." As soon as the first words came out of his mouth, all three dogs started screaming things like, "OH GOD HE SAW!" "HEAD FOR THE HILLS!" "EAT ME LAST, EAT ME LAST!"

Then they realized the rest of what he had said.

"Oh…" Shin said slowly, pausing in his desperate flight for the hills, "Y-You're not mad about it…?"

"Not at all. Though I am a little pissed you wanted to feed me carrion…" His tails twitched irritably, but the three dogs didn't notice. Shin let out a sigh of relief while Ko murmured, "Thank goodness!"

"Hey!" Hayabusa called over to them, "Are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna come eat?"

"EAT! We'll come eat!" Rei cried out, zooming towards the delicious-looking pile of dead animals. Everyone helped themselves to whatever looked the best. Ninetails was ripping off a limb of the dead deer, when Hayabusa poked him tentatively in the side with a paw.

"So Ninetails…who won?"

"Oh!" Ninetails said, as if he had just remembered. He looked at all the hopeful expressions that surrounded him. "Um…Uh…You're all winners!"

"What?" Everyone shrieked in disbelief.

"No fair!" Chi pouted.

"We won and you know it!" Take growled, eyeing the other groups as if they dared defy him.

Ko and Ume were the only ones who weren't upset. They just sat, enjoying their breakfast, nomnomnomming away. Then Tei had an anger management moment and started yelling at them that it was "omnomnom" not "nomnomnom." It was then that Oki decided enough was enough.

"Okay, _children_, that's enough. Time to get down to business." His scorching words shut everyone up. Then they looked at him and all whined in unison, "Awww!"

Oki gritted his teeth, thinking, _And so starts day two of Boot…no…Mutt Camp._


	7. Doggie Democracy

**My dog has run into trees before. Happens.**

"I'm Ume, the last canine warrior! I like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain…"

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? Everyone got a cool intro six chapters back except for me! So here I am making up for it…"

"JIN!"

Without warning, Tei pounced on the unsuspecting Shiba Inu and pinned him to the ground. He bared his teeth, his face inches from Ume's. "We're doing one-on-one combat and I'm against _you_." He growled, "Ready to see if you're still the best fighter?"

Ume didn't respond; He just lay there stunned. Tei didn't move, glowering down at him. "Erm…" Ume said uncertainly, "O-okay, you can get off now..."

"I don't see why we have to do this when we're fighting Orochi. It's not like he's a dog." Chi whined, watching the exchange between Tei and Ume with little interest.

"Oh, come on," Hayabusa said, looking excited, "It's good practice. You never know when you'll have to fight. Besides, it's like a tournament! I'm totally gonna win…"

Ninetails and Oki were sitting away from the dogs, watching them with amusement as they argued amongst themselves. "No you won't, I will!" "You? Don't make me laugh!" "Shut up both of you! I'm the real winner!" "Is there a prize?" "Yeah…bragging rights!" "But I wanted bacon…"

Ninetails chuckled softly, and then turned to look at Oki. "Oki…you sure know how to handle them."

Oki looked up at Ninetails, his eyes wide with surprise. "…The Canine Warriors? You're pulling my leg, Ninetails."

"Does this look like the face of someone who's lying?" Ninetails said, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"I don't know. I can't see your face. You're wearing a mask."

Ninetails laughed. "Well I think you know how to handle them, because you're able to get them motivated to fight Orochi! You tapped into their competitive instinct to get them going!"

_I'll regret this…_ Oki thought, as he told the kitsune, "You're not too bad yourself, Ninetails. Would you mind working with the more experienced canine warriors while I work with the others?"

Ninetails gave an excited hop. "Really? Me? Okay!" Completely thrilled, he gathered the four skilled warriors with a sweep of his many tails. "Come on! Since you guys are experienced, we'll start with play-fighting and go from there!"

"Yay Ninetails!" Ume cheered, racing after his newest friend. The other three hung back, looking uncertain.

"Go on." Oki urged them, "Do as he says."

Reluctantly, Hayabusa, Take, and Tei followed the other two. Oki watched them go, heading up a hill away from them. Then he turned to look at the remaining warriors. They all had hopeful expressions, like maybe he had forgotten about them, but snapped to attention when he said, "As for you four…come at me."

They sat there, looking dumbfounded. Chi was the first one to speak up, sounding unsure, "Come at you? W-what, like…just…attack you?"

Oki nodded.

"Go ahead, Chi." Rei invited. "Ladies first!" He and the others laughed nervously. They had all stepped back a couple feet, leaving Chi to deal with Oki. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, making the males cower. Then with a huffy breath, she turned to face Oki.

He sat there, staring at her. She tried to focus, to take her eyes off his hot bod and figure out a way to approach this new situation. She stared at his blue legs, with neat little red rings around the ankles. _I'll aim to knock him off his feet…_ She thought. Then she dashed forward, diving low, with a loud, high-pitched scream.

Oki easily leaped high above her head, a split second before she reached the spot he had been standing in. She looked up in surprise as he sailed over her hand, and then landed on her back with a loud thump.

"Ow!" She protested, as he pinned her underneath him.

"Your eyes betrayed where you were going…you mustn't let your opponent know what you are going to do next." Oki said in the confident voice of a teacher mentoring a student.

Chi sighed dreamily from underneath him, "Even though that was totally embarrassing, I can't regret it."

"Who would like to go now?" He looked at the three males.

"I'll go!" Ko said, stepping forward bravely. Oki stepped off of Chi to face him. Ko stood there, staring at Oki. Suddenly, he started trembling all over. His mouth opened and he began to gasp frantically, as if he couldn't get enough air.

"Ko…" Oki said, sounding worried, "Are you okay?"

As if in response, Ko stopped gasping and started drooling crazily, his eyes wide and staring. He just stood there, shaking, not saying anything. Oki was wondering what to do when—

"Gotcha!"

THUMP!

Ko stood on top of Oki, his tail wagging triumphantly, his tongue lolling. "I did it, I did it!" He woofed proudly.

"Very clever, Ko." Oki said crouched underneath the collie. "I'm impressed…however…" He easily flung the canine off of him, then grabbed his sword and held it over him.

"Owowowowoww…" Ko whined, rubbing his nose with his paws.

"The battle isn't over until it's over…you must always be on your guard! Also, don't expect a trick like that to work on an enemy…they don't care about your well-being like I do. Anyways…next one!" Oki turned to the last two.

Rei shoved Shin forward. Shin stumbled a couple feet, turned, and glared at the Pointer. "Don't push me!" He growled.

"You heard him, it's your turn!" Rei bared his teeth.

"_No_, it's your turn! Go on!"

"Why you…" With a frustrated snarl, Rei sprang for Shin. The boxer dodged to the side, sending his opponent crashing to the ground, his heavy paws splayed out in front of him.

"Be light on your feet, Rei!" Oki called to him. "That way your attacks will be quicker!"

Rei jumped back onto his feet, shaking his head to clear it. Then he turned and gave chase to Shin, a loud growl ripping through his teeth. Shin ran, looking over his shoulder to make sure he was outdistancing Rei. As he was doing this, he crashed headlong into a tree. Then he just sat there, looking dizzy and in pain. Rei halted, looking concerned. "Are you okay…?" He whimpered.

"Learn to pay attention to your surroundings Shin." Oki droned on, "An enemy could finish you off easily if you don't. Now I'm going to show you a couple battle techniques I picked up while training in Kamui…"

Chi was sitting next to Ko, hissing in his ear, "Rei and Shin were sooo faking that lame battle. They never fight! I bet they did that to get out of fighting Oki."

Ko tilted his head to the side, ears pricked. "I wonder what the others are doing?"

* * *

Tei was snarling an extremely ugly snarl, his lips drawn back as far as they could go. His eyes were narrowed and gleaming, his nose wrinkled, and his head lowered dangerously. Ume wasn't phased. He growled right on back, his face taking on the same gruesome features as Tei's. Hayabusa and Take were sitting off to the side with Ninetails, their eyes bright with interest.

"Readyyy…fight!" Ninetails shouted.

Tei leaped forward, his jaws shutting like a trap. Ume dodged, rearing onto his hind legs. Tei didn't hesitate a second, and dove forward, ramming his head into his opponent's stomach. Ume managed to dig his claws into Tei, catching himself, and then buried his jaws into the fighting dog's scruff. Tei retaliated, biting at Ume's lower back. Blood flew in flecks. Ume yelped, letting go of Tei.

Tei refused to let go. There are many different styles of fighting for dogs…some dogs attack quickly, zipping to different spots on their prey to find the best and safest place to attack. Other dogs grab hold, dig their teeth in, and stay true to that hold. Tei was doing the latter, refusing to be shaken. Ume rammed the hound into a nearby rock repeatedly until he was forced to let go. Tei was only on the ground a second, before they were back up, both rearing onto their hind legs, letting loose doglike roars. Then they crashed into one another and were tussling back on the ground.

"Tei looks like he's ready to fight to the death." Hayabusa noted.

"Ha. Too bad for him he's going to lose." Take said, starting to look bored.

"I disagree." Ninetails said with a grin, "Tei is doing well. Plus he has age and experience on his side."

"Maybe a little too much age…" Take snickered, signaling to Tei's gray muzzle.

"Just watch, Ninetails;" Hayabusa agreed, "Ume has a secret weapon. Watch…there he goes…"

Ninetails's eyes widened with disgust. "What the-? Ume, that's disgusting! You're in the middle of a battle, now's not the time to be taking a-!"

BOOM!

"Told you."

Tei landed on the ground at their feet, charred.

Ume pranced over to them, curled tail wagging. "Did I win? Did I?"

"Looks like it…but what the heck happened?" Ninetails said, eyes still wide.

"I used a Poo Bomb!" Ume said proudly.

"WHAT?"

"It's my secret weapon. I can make my crap explode!" Ume said, with an insane look on his face. The other housepets looked rather embarrassed.

"We all have one." Hayabusa muttered, trying to force a smile. "I can dig big holes while Take pees on enemies to weaken them."

"I would prefer if you called it "golden fury" rather than pee." Take growled, ears flattened.

Tei climbed to his feet shakily, his fur fluffed up aggressively. "You think you're a better fighter than me just because of your so-called secret weapon?" He growled at Ume, "Come fight me again, you poor excuse of a warrior! I'll show you who's the rightful leader of this pack…"

Ninetails rolled his eyes. "Not now, Tei. I want to see these other moves…"

"NO!" Tei roared dramatically. "Jin has challenged my leadership. They all think they're better than me!" He glowered at them. It sounded ridiculous, but he was completely serious.

Hayabusa frowned. "For howlin' out loud Tei, you know none of us have any interest in being leader!"

Ume gave a large sigh. "Okay, if this will make you feel better…" _And shut you up…_ He added silently. He walked right up to Tei then flopped on his back, exposing his belly and letting his tongue loll to the side. "You're the alpha and I'm a lowly omega!" He whined pitifully, almost humorously. Tei stood there dumbfounded. Take stifled a snicker.

Tei gave the smallest of smiles. "I suppose that does make me feel a bit better…" He admitted sheepishly.

"Great," Ninetails interrupted, "So now that Tei is done with his tantrum…" Tei's smile disappeared and was replaced by his usual grumpy expression. "…why don't we see some "golden fury" action from Take."

Take turned his back on Ninetails, scowling. "Can't we save this for another time…" He grumbled, his fur feeling hotter than normal.

"Oh come on, you should be excited to have a secret weapon." Ninetails said, starting to go off on a tangent. "Just look at me! I can freeze time, take on any shape I want, create illusions, become a constellation, control any of the elements, paint…"

"If you're quite through bragging…" Hayabusa cut him off. "I really think we should get on with the training…it looks like it's going to storm."

The group had been so focused on their conversation; they had just noticed the dark storm clouds starting to move in from the distance. A faint rumbling of thunder could be heard, miles away. Ume gave a nervous shiver from his spot on the ground. Ninetails looked unimpressed. "Hmph. I can handle a storm just fine. Take, demonstrate your attack on Hayabusa so he shuts up. Do it or _I'll_ start demonstrating some of _my_ moves."

Hayabusa narrowed his eyes. Take curled his upper lip to reveal his teeth. "Fine." He said unpleasantly, making it clear that he wasn't going to enjoy this. Just as he started demonstrating the move on Hayabusa, Oki came prowling up the hill.

"All right everyone, time to wrap up." The Oina warrior was saying, "There's a bad storm on the way so let's find shelter…" He trailed off at the scene before him. Take was poised with his leg out over Hayabusa as if he had just peed on him. Hayabusa was lying on the ground passed out. Ume was also lying on the ground, in front of Tei, and there was Ninetails with a guilty grin on his face. Oki made a face. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't see that, and when I walked up, you were training like you were supposed to be."

Take gathered himself and started to protest, "But we were! We…aww, what's the use of argu-!" A loud clap of thunder cut him off. Ume gave a startled yelp. A fierce wind began to blow.

"Come on!" Oki said urgently, shouting over the wind. "The others are in a cave down the hill. We-!"

"That won't be necessary…" Ninetails interrupted, clutching his sword in his teeth. It sparked with electricity. "You guys keep training. I'll redirect the lightning."

"It's fine, Ninetails, you don't have to do that for us." Oki said, trying to move everyone towards the cave.

"Aww, but lightning's my specialty!" Ninetails protested. Oki looked surprised at these words, so the fox went on. "Out of all the elements I can control, it's my best!"

Oki didn't say anything to that. He hesitated a long moment, then said, "Ninetails, stay here with your lightning. The rest of you, come with me." Then he turned away and took off down the hill, just as rain started to pour down from the sky. The four warriors were right behind him, running as fast as they could go. Ninetails stood back, looking confused, then shrugged, and began to redirect the lightning. A stray bolt almost hit the group on the way back, but veered off into a nearby tree, shattering it.

"That was close!" Hayabusa gasped, racing alongside the others, "I think that one almost hit us!"

"Hey Oki," Ume panted, "How does one control lightning? It seems impossible…"

"Not impossible for someone who can freeze time." Oki said simply as they arrived at the cave and dashed inside. "There you guys are!" The four others sighed in relief, "Get in here, quick!" Everyone filed inside and stood in a huddle, shivering.

"We thought you were toast!" Rei said, licking his lips, "You don't happen to have any with you, do you…?"

"Stop thinking about your stomach, Rei. Where's Ninetails?" Ko asked, a little nervously.

"Betcha he got struck by lightning!" Chi giggled playfully. Then she paused and looked around, as if she really hoped that was true.

"He's outside directing the lightning…which is what I want to talk to you about…" Everyone looked at him questionably. The blue wolf sat down on his haunches, choosing his words carefully. "I want to take a vote on how many of you think Ninetails should help us train with the rest of the elements…"

"WHAT!" Everyone shouted in collective disbelief.

"You gotta be kidding." Tei said, motioning outside. "Just look at him!"

Everyone peered outside, squinting through the rain. There was Ninetails on the hill, cuddling a cute white bunny, keeping it dry from the rain. He was saying something to it. "And I shall call you Fluffy and I will keep you warm and dry and I shall love you forevermore."

Oki turned back to Tei. "Tei, don't be so hard on him, he's just…"

"Look again." Tei growled.

They looked back. With a roar, Ninetails launched himself at the bunny, jaws wide as he screeched, "DEATH TO ALL WHO OPPOSE ME!" There was a squeal, the snap of teeth, and silence. Everyone returned to the meeting, not quite sure what to think.

"Look, I know he's had a past of evil…" Oki said slowly, "But his powers could really prove essential in training for our battle with Orochi. Let's take a vote, and if it's a no, then it's fine by me."

"Then the answer is _no_." Came Tei's voice. He stood up, eyes burning with ferocity. "I think I speak for everyone when I say there is no way we can trust that sly, fox-faced creep!" Take nodded his agreement from behind.

Ume, however, stood up at this statement. "You don't speak for _me_ when you say that." He said firmly. Then his ears lowered, and his eyes glazed over with the memory of the night before. "Ninetails saved my life. If that isn't enough to earn someone's trust, I don't know what is!"

"I agree with Ume." Hayabusa said, stepping forward. "We need Ninetails's help to learn the rest of the elements to defeat Orochi. Plus, we would only have seven warriors if not for him." He smiled at Ume. The Shiba Inu wagged his tail happily, looking gratefully at his best friend.

"Well I don't." Take disagreed. "Ninetails is dangerous…remember what happened at Kusa Village's windmill? There's no way I would let him train with us after that…"

"So that makes two yes and two no…you all make very reasonable arguments." Oki said truthfully. He looked at the remaining warriors, who hadn't voted. "What do the rest of you think?"

Shin, Rei, and Chi all looked to Ko to speak. He looked flustered at being put on the spot. "Oh! Um…well…you know what they say the more the merrier!" Then he grinned, as if satisfied with his response. Everyone had a sweatdrop moment. "I guess that's a yes?" Oki wondered.

Chi sidled up to the blue wolf, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Well I say no. Ninetails scares me. Oki's such a good teacher, we don't need him anyways!" Then she blushed and giggled nervously. Oki didn't react.

Hayabusa looked doubtfully at Chi, wondering if she was just sucking up to Oki. "You realize we want Ninetails to train with us because he can control the elements, right?"

"Oki can only control ice and there's no ice head." Shin pointed out.

"Of course I…!" Chi started to say, but then she just gave a huffy growl and shut up.

"So I say yes, we can trust him. He didn't get mad when we killed a fox so I don't think he's as bad as you think." Shin concluded his reasoning with a nod.

"I agree!" Rei grinned. "If Ninetails wanted to kill us, he would have done so already. I say we can trust him!"

"Very well." Oki nodded. "I'll notify Ninetails of our decision." He turned and padded out of the cave, silently praying that this was the right choice.

The dogs watched him go. As his footsteps faded, Take said suddenly, "If this gets us all killed, I vote we blame Ko."

"-?"

"Agreed."


	8. A Howl in the Night

**ONE review for the last chapter? I see how it is. **

**Haha jk. Just keep reading and reviewing all right? **

Oki stepped outside, squinting against the unexpected bright light. The sky was clear and dew shone on the grass. "It stopped storming…" He murmured aloud.

"Yup!" Ninetails said, popping up behind him, making him jump. "I made it stop!" He proceeded to go on and on about how he was redirecting the lightning and got bored, so he blew away the rain clouds. When he was done describing that in detail, he began to blabber on some more about how strong he was with his mad skillz and whatnot. When Ninetails paused to take a breath, Oki finally made his voice heard.

"Um, yes, I actually wanted to tell you that, um…well, we decided to let you help train us." He paused, letting the words sink in. Ninetails just stared at him with a confused look on his face as though he didn't quite understand. "Uh…yeah…" Oki went on awkwardly. "I know you have the power to control elements just as Orochi does…so we took a vote on whether we could trust you or not and majority ruled yes…so we would appreciate it if you helped us train…would you?"

During this whole speech, a parade of expressions had gone across Ninetails's face. At first he looked doubtful, then shocked, and now he was positively beaming. "Of course!" He burst out, leaping onto his hind legs so that he towered over Oki, and batting at the air. "You have no idea how happy this makes me! I've always hated that Orochi. He's been jealous of me ever since I won the "villain with the most body parts" award. He tried to sabotage me whenever he could after that. But now I'll finally get my revenge! By training those who will defeat him!" As he said this, he drew what looked like a bunch of five-year old scrawl. With one tail, he painted a picture of him, Orochi, and Spider Queen. With another tail, he drew a picture of Orochi trying to cut off on of his tails with scissors. Oki just stared.

Ninetails seemed to realize he wasn't acting nearly as dignified as he should be, so he paused, and then said seriously, "You have my word I will try my best to train the canine warriors in preparation for their fight against Orochi."

Oki looked satisfied enough. "Very well." He said, "I hope you prove yourself as a valuable asset to our organization."

"Oh, don't worry Oki, I will." Ninetails responded, rather arrogantly.

Then, out of nowhere, Oki's expression hardened. The skin around his nose wrinkled and his eyes glared. "Do not make me regret this decision." He growled softly, eyes boring into Ninetails.

"I won't…" Ninetails responded, meeting his gaze confidently. Oki turned and stalked away, without another word. "Uh, so when do I start?" Ninetails called after him, feeling a little ruffled by all this.

"Tomorrow…" Oki said, without looking back. "It's been a long day. I'm going to let them rest for a while."

"It's still daylight out!" Ninetails said in disbelief. "You're going to give them that much time off?"

Oki paused midstride, hesitated, then allowed himself to look back over his shoulder. "Who said we're not going to train when it's dark?" He mused, eyes glimmering mischievously. Ninetails sat there, watching him disappear inside the cave, wondering what on earth the blue wolf had planned for that night.

Oki entered the cave, looking at the already sleeping forms of the warriors. _Sleep well, Canine Warriors…_ He thought, looking at the huddled shapes of the eight dogs. _Tonight presents a whole new challenge. And then tomorrow…will be the toughest training yet…and then…only a mere 24 hours until the full moon, the night of the Kamiki Festival. Orochi will choose a sacrifice that night. But we'll be there to stop him!_ At this thought, Oki dug his claws into the ground, feeling energy rush through him.

With that, he left the cave, and went walking through the pass, letting the cool breeze of the approaching night wash over him. As he sat down to watch the moon rise, Ninetails turned and went in the opposite direction, his mind overflowing with excitement.

"I don't believe it." He whispered, a small smile spreading across his mask. He lifted his nose to the sky, filling his vision with stars. Happiness welled up from inside him. "They actually _trust_ me."

Later that night, the Canine Warriors were resting peacefully in the darkness of the cave. That is…most of them were.

"Psst…wake up." Came a hushed voice. Hayabusa was crouched beside Tei, prodding him with a paw. Tei opened his eyes and glared grumpily at the striped dog. "Take and Ume are missing."

"So go tell Oki." The scarred hound growled softly, "He's leader, not me. Remember?"

"I did." Hayabusa whispered, "He and Ninetails went out somewhere. No one's outside the cave, but there's some old wooden stairs in the back. Maybe they went exploring. Either way, we should go find them before they end up getting in trouble."

"HA!" Tei laughed quite suddenly, and loudly. "You think they went exploring? They're probably curled up somewhere, whimpering, afraid of the dark! Wimpy little housepets…bet they're wishing they had a warm basket to sleep in right about now!" He chuckled at this. The other dogs, which had all woken up due to the noise, did not look amused at all.

"Aw Tei, that's not nice!" Chi protested sleepily, with a glance at Hayabusa. His face had darkened at these insulting words, but instead of getting angry, he straightened up and announced,

"Y'know Tei, if you're afraid of the dark, you can just say so. Meanwhile, _this _wimpy little housepet is going to find the others." He couldn't help but grin, and then turned to pad away. Tei scrambled to his feet and shoved the brown warrior aside.

"Okay, that's it!" He snarled, stomping through the pack's ranks, head-butting them to their feet. "Everyone get in pack formation, we're going to find Gi and Jin!"

Hayabusa smirked and dropped to the back of the group. Although he was one of the strongest warriors, he was one of the lowest ranks in the eyes of Tei. In front of him, Ko walked with Chi and Rei walked with Shin. Tei took the lead. The four in the middle looked tired and confused. After walking for a few good seconds, Ko cried out, "I can't see! Will someone hold my paw?"

"How old are you, five?" Chi hissed at him, referring to five weeks old rather than five years old. "Keep it down!"

"But it's dark!" Ko whined.

"Well no kidding, but you don't hear the rest of us complaining. Just follow Tei and you'll be fine. He knows what he's doing."

CRASH!

"Arrgh!"

"Or not. I dunno."

"We found the stairs!" Rei announced.

"These stairs are rickety and it's hard to see." Tei said, ignoring his bruise and trying to pretend that he hadn't just run into them. "Go single file and hold the tail in front of you." Rei reached out and grabbed Tei's tail. The Alpha started up the steps. Shin hung back.

"Um," The boxer said tentatively, looking at Rei's stubby little tail. "I don't really need to grab a tail to help m-!"

"Grab the tail!" Tei barked angrily, cutting him off.

Shin grabbed the tail with a whimper. Then Chi grabbed his tail and Ko grabbed hers. They all began their slow ascent. It was then that Ko slowly realized that there was nothing holding on to his tail.

"Mmph…hey, Hayabusha…" He said through a mouthful of white fur, "You can grab my tail if you want. I promish I won't get mad. It might be a little hairy but…" He trailed off. When there was no response, he let go of Chi's tail and turned to look behind him. There was nothing but endless darkness, with no sign of the seventh warrior.

"Hayabusa…?" Ko whimpered. No response. "Hayabusa's gone!" He burst out, eyes widening with shock.

"Huh?" Chi let go of the tail in front of her and reeled backwards. "But he was right behind us a minute ago!" Everyone else was starting to panic, except for Tei, who stood there with his eyes narrowed.

"Ran off with his tail between his legs, did he?" He bellowed into the darkness,  
"The coward!" He wrinkled his nose with disgust.

"Hayabusaaa!" Ko shouted over and over. "Hayaaa!"

"W-What if something terrible happened?" Chi whimpered, shaking all over.

"Be quiet, I hear something!" Shin barked and everyone shut up. In the distance they could hear a faint howling—a dog crying for help. "It's Ume!"

The dogs dashed up the rest of the steps, crying out, "He's in danger!" "It's coming from above!" "Up the steps, quick!" "But I can't see-!" When they reached the top, they froze. A heap of black and white fur, surrounded by a pool of red, was lying in their path.

"Take!" Chi screamed. "Take, wake up! Please wake up!" She ran to his body and buried her face in it, but he didn't move. His fur was stained with blood; his eyes were shut tight as if he were sleeping.

"He can't be dead!" Rei cried out.

Suddenly, a harsh shriek pierced the night.

"Ume!" Tei gasped.

"C'mon!" Shin said urgently, taking off in the direction of the sound. The others followed.

"Wait!" Chi choked out, hanging back. "What about Take?" No one responded. They melted into the dark, leaving her behind. "Take…" She whimpered, her paws resting on his head. She was so consumed with grief that she didn't notice a pair of red eyes sneaking up on her from behind…

"Darn it!" Tei cursed, "It's just as dark out here as it is in there!" They were out on the cliff that surrounded Take Pass now. Dark clouds covered the moon, and the rocks left long shadows, making it just as difficult to see…but they could still hear. A high-pitched yelp emanated from the Guardian Sapling that stood on the opposite cliff, just across a bridge. "There!"

Suddenly, the shadows seemed to come alive. A long tentacle-like shape came rushing out of the darkness, and went to wrap itself around Tei and Shin. Shin dodged the onslaught, but Tei was not so lucky and was knocked off his feet. Another shape just like the first attacked from above, catching Rei and Ko. Shin evaded this too, and took off across the bridge. "Tentacle monster!" Ko wailed, struggling to get away.

"Arrgh! Oh, the pain!" Shin's ears pricked up. He could see Ume's ears peeking over one of the large roots around the sapling. He dashed up to it and looked over. There was Ume, sitting on the other side, facing away from him, perfectly unharmed. "Oh someone, help!" He was saying loudly, "Before it eats my front paws too! Wahhh!"

"…Ume?" Shin said quietly.

Ume whipped around, eyes wide, fur fluffed up. "AH! Oh shoot, you found me!" He gasped.

Shin hopped off of the root and landed neatly in front of Ume. "Shoot?" He repeated back to him, arching an eyebrow.

Ume blinked stupidly. "Err, I-I mean…oh, Shin, you found me! Thank you sooo much!" He jumped towards Shin and wrapped his paws around him awkwardly.

"You said 'oh shoot.'" Shin said, not buying it.

"Wha-? No I didn't. I said Shin…you are Shin, right? I can't see well…"

"…You said you were in pain. You were acting like you lost your paws."

"Well that's because…umm…I was…!"

"Face it, Ume. The jig is up." Came a new voice.

"Hayabusa!" Shin gasped, turning around to see Hayabusa padding up to them.

He lifted his snout and yowled, "Ninetails, light us up!" The clouds covering the moon drifted apart and its light washed the deep darkness away. The striped dog gave a satisfied nod. "Much better."

Shin tilted his head, confused. "Hayabusa, what happened? We were attacked—!" The boxer gave a sharp gasp. "We have to make sure everyone's all right! Take—he's dead! We found him dead!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Hayabusa barked, before Shin could start panicking too much. "Take's fine. They all are. We'll explain once everyone gets here. Look, here they come now."

And sure enough, here came their missing companions with Take leading the charge. His tongue was lolling enthusiastically, but his stomach still dripped with what seemed to be blood. "Wasn't that awesome?" He panted as he skidded to a halt in front of them.

Tei, Rei, and Ko stood back. Rei and Ko looked embarrassed while Tei just looked downright pissed. "I demand to know what just happened!" The hound growled.

Ninetails came padding up, smiling mischievously, with Oki at his side. The wolf had Chi's scruff clutched in his jaws. For some reason, she was soaking wet and shivering. "It was a test…" Oki said, setting the damp dog on the ground. "To see who would face off with the Dark head."

"Well why did you have to trick us like that?" Tei challenged, "And why were the _housepets_ exempt from it?"

"I thought putting you in a dire situation would bring out the best in you." Oki responded calmly, "And it did, at least for Shin. As for the "housepets," I think we already have the elements they'll be facing sorted out…"

The housepets gathered around Shin, looking pleased. Ume jumped into a play crouch, his butt wriggling with excitement. "Welcome to Team Awesome!" Take congratulated.

Shin blinked slowly, looking tired. "I'm still confused…" He admitted.

Hayabusa took it upon himself to explain. "Well, I woke you guys up and got you going while Ume hid in that tree and screamed! I ran off and Take laid at the top of the stairs like he was dead. We even painted him red with Ninetails's tail. We weren't gonna, but we decided to have fun with it, so we did! You guys were great, by the way." He added, looking at his two companions.

"I know!" Ume beamed, tail wagging.

"Haha, I don't even know how I managed that without laughing. The looks on their faces…heh." The husky shot a smirk at Tei.

"That's not the point." Oki said firmly, "Keep in mind this all had a purpose. Chi, you stayed behind with Take. I admire your ability to care for others, however, on the field of battle, you must save mourning for afterwards or risk being killed yourself."

"But was it really necessary to sneak up on me and _freeze_ me?" Chi huffed, shaking the water out of her heavy, white fur.

"_Yes_." Oki growled. He turned to the rest of them. "As for the rest of you, Ninetails attacked you in the dark and tried to trip you up. It was a valiant effort you made, but in the end I think we all know Shin has mastered the dark. As for those remaining, we'll find out shortly…"

"How did you do it, dude?" Hayabusa asked, nudging Shin awake.

"Huh? Uh, I don't know. I've always seen well in the dark. I wasn't thinking too hard about it…I only wanted to rescue Ume."

Everyone seemed satisfied with that.

"Come on, are we gonna stand here talking until the sun rises?" Ninetails spoke up, "I don't know about you but THIS tentacle monster is hungry! Whaddya say we head back to the caves and eat, eh, Ko? Want me to hold your paw while we go there?" He reached over and ruffled the fur on the collie's head. Ko frowned.

"…I think he's making fun of me."

"Come. Ninetails is right." Oki said, sweeping everyone with his gaze, "We've prepared breakfast for you. I bought some meat from the merchant last night."

"Yay!" Ko cheered.

"Breakfast? Meat?" Rei said, perking up.

Oki sweatdropped. "Right this way…"


	9. The Haunted Shower Dead Dog Thing

Ta-Da!

Meat! Chicken, beef, ham, veal, steak, duck, tuna, lobstuh—MEAT! Sweet, beautiful meat! The dogs couldn't help but drool, staring at the breakfast Oki had prepared for them. It was enough to make any vegetarian barf up their broccoli.

"Dig in!" Ninetails invited, grinning from ear to ear.

So they did just that. They chomped, munched, scarfed, and gobbled their way through the meat ranks.

Oki and Ninetails sat off to the side, silent. The fox's tails were twitching with anticipation. Oki squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain. "I don't think I can watch…" He moaned under his breath.

"Everything's gonna be fine! We only used a little. Just sit back and watch the show!" Ninetails told him. Suddenly, a loud retching interrupted him. Oki's ears went flat and he turned his head. "Whoa, there they go now! That was fast!"

BLLEEEAARRGH!

The dogs proceeded to hack up pounds of partially digested meat. "What is happening?" Tei choked out, between…attacks.

"Oki poisoned you!" Ninetails said quite happily, pointing a paw at his friend.

"WHAT!" Everyone shrieked collectively.

By this time, Oki had turned all the way around, ears as flat against his skull as they could possibly be. Ninetails proceeded to ramble on as usual.

"Well, don't give him all the credit, I was in on it too. Since I can't control poison, we thought we'd have a little test, but we only used a little poison so you wouldn't die, just…"

"Poison?" Rei interceded.

"Oh yeah, the merchant sells it by the truck load, but we only used enough to make you sick."

Rei sat there, looking worried. "There must be something wrong with me…" He said, as every other dog around him was currently throwing up his or her insides. Yes, something was definitely wrong with him.

Oki stood up and turned around. His face was grave. "I guess this means you'll be facing the Poison head."

Rei blinked with astonishment.

"Blehh…" Take grumbled, licking his lips, "Rei can eat anything. Bet that's why he's immune."

"This is the last straw, Oki!" Tei spoke up, eyes blazing. "You call this training? So Rei can eat anything, even poison! How does that help us?"

The skin around Oki's nose wrinkled ever so slightly. "Well, Tei," He snarled, "if you have a better idea on how to train with poison, I'd _love_ to hear it. Go on. Tell us how to train with poison."

"At least I've never poisoned my own pack!" Tei roared.

"Before I came along, this was barely even a pack!" Oki snarled.

A long silence followed his words. The two canines faced one another, fur bristling, teeth bared, growls ripping from their throats. It seemed that they would spring at each other at any moment…

Then Chi shrieked, "EW, Ko! Don't eat it again! You'll just barf it back up!"

Oki turned away. "Take an hour to recover; we'll meet outside here. It should be light enough to train…I'll see you then…"

Tei's eyes were narrowed, but he didn't say anything. Everyone stood still, not saying anything, and just watched the wolf slink away. They all lazed around, washing their paws and basking in the sun, wondering what today would bring. About an hour later, Oki still hadn't returned to their meeting place, so they set out to find him.

Hayabusa spotted the wolf sitting on a hilltop, watching the sunrise. His head was bowed. The canine warrior approached. "Hey, everything okay, Oki?"

"Thank you for your concern, Hayabusa, however, you need not concern yourself with my affairs." Oki sighed, his voice heavy with depression.

"…Who are you having an affair with?"

"ARRGH! It's not an affair, I swear!" Oki cried out, "Kai likes me, but I don't want to hurt her and she just won't give up on me until I'm completely done with-!"

"Whoa, Oki, calm down, I was kidding!" Hayabusa yelled, "I can tell you're upset about what happened back there!"

"Oh yeah. That too." Oki said, feeling hot under his fur. He gave another great sigh. "I was so blind. I should have known this would happen. Training in the dark only lengthened the rift between the "housepets" and the others…while the poison test ended up losing me everyone's respect. I am a terrible leader…I've lost the warrior's trust and now they will no longer wish to train with me."

Hayabusa felt surprised at these words coming from the usually confident Oina warrior. "First of all, I thought training in the dark was very effective not to mention fun. Second of all, there isn't really a rift, just Tei having anger issues. And third of all…if you had lost all of our respect and trust, why would we all be behind you, ready to train?"

Oki whipped around. Sure enough, there was everyone standing behind him, ready to go. All of them were smiling encouragingly—even Tei didn't look nearly as angry as earlier. Oki felt his insides fill with a new confidence. "Excellent. I'd like to start by assigning the last warriors to the remaining elements."

"Us?" Chi gasped. Everyone's focus went to her, Ko, and Tei. "Already?" Ko wondered.

"Yes…" Oki said, choosing his words carefully, "Chi, you will be facing the Light head. Your thick fur may help you keep cool and protect you from the intense heat. Also, you can use its white color to your advantage—it will help you blend with Orochi's attacks. You may be able to stun him."

Chi swooned. "Oki said I'm stunning!" She squealed. Ko lowered his head, eyes dull. Tei snorted.

"Ko." Oki said, facing the collie, "You'll be facing the Lightning head. I've seen how quick you can be on your feet, err whenrunningawayfrombattle BUT I'm sure you will be able to handle it just fine."

"Plus," Ninetails added, "the Lightning head is totally retarded so that's probably why Oki's—"

"SHUT UP NINETAILS. Ah, I mean, silence. Please. Now as for you…Tei…I see it only fitting that the leader of the Canine Warriors should battle the main head of Orochi. You will be facing the Fire head."

Tei's eyes widened at this. A smile crossed his scarred muzzle. "I would be honored to." He said, face shining with happiness.

"Oh my gosh, someone call the news!" Chi giggled, "Tei is smiling!"

The smile vanished and was replaced by the usual scowl.

"Oops! Never mind! That was short-lived."

"Enough chat!" Ninetails declared, pulling out his sword and crouching close to the ground. "I'm ready to train! Let's do this!"

"Very well." Oki grinned evilly. "This will be a battle with no limits. Whoever gets Ninetails's mask off first, I will catch them any piece of prey they want! Now, go!"

"What?" Ninetails screeched, "Oh yeah, well whoever steals Oki's mask first, I'LL catch them whatever prey _they_ want!"

Suddenly, all eight warriors were stampeding straight at them, howling with glee. "Here I come, Oki!" "I'm gonna get Ninetails's mask~!" "Let's do this!" "Prepare yourself, Oki!" "Ninetails is gonna catch me a horse!" Then, like a tidal wave, they all collectively launched themselves onto the wolf and the fox.

Ume, Rei, and Take went after Oki while the other five went for Ninetails. "Curse you Ninetails!" Oki snarled, freezing Ume with his sword while kicking Rei away at the same time. Take charged him from behind, but Oki turned around just in time. He toppled backwards from the weight of the husky, but kicked him off before he could grab at the mask. "YOU'RE supposed to be the ones training them!" Oki growled, swiping his sword at Rei, but missing.

"Well, you know what they say, Oki, what goes around comes around…" The gigantic kitsune sneered, easily keeping the rest of the warriors at bay with a fierce wind attack. "Lightning coming your way, Ko!"

"Huh? YIPE!" The fluffy dog barely managed to dodge a lightning strike. Under no threat, Ninetails glanced over at the other battle. Oki was barely managing to hold off Rei and Take, while Ume was frozen behind him.

"Let's add fire to the mix, shall we?" He chuckled, sending a stream of flames straight at Tei. The warrior leapt straight up into the air, causing the flames to miss him altogether. Instead, they blasted past, and hit Ume. The block of ice he was trapped in melted and he broke free.

"HaHAH! Gotcha!" The Shiba Inu squealed, leaping onto Oki out of nowhere. He swiped the mask right off of his head! The Oina warrior didn't even see it coming. "Got it!" Ume cheered, prancing in circles, his prize clutched firmly in his jaws.

"Woohoo!" Ninetails shouted, stopping to watch the action, "Way to go, Ume!" He totally forgot about the fact that he was supposed to be on guard from the others. Tei launched himself straight at the fox's face and clamped down on his nose.

"YOWWW!" The Dark Lord shrieked, shaking his head wildly, "Leggo my nose! Leggo my nose!"

"Wayon't…yourask…kommoff?" Tei grunted, refusing to let go.

"Look, it's practically glued to my face, it's not coming off, so just LET GO!" Ninetails wailed, unable to shake the warrior off. Tei relaxed his grip and leapt away.

"There." He growled.

"Jerk." The poor fox whimpered, eyes tearing up at the pain.

Oki, meanwhile, had snatched his mask back from Ume and put it back in its rightful place. Ume grinned.

"WINNER! I'm a winner! Me and Tei won—now Oki has to hunt for Tei and Ninetails has to hunt for meee!"

The two named looked at each other and sighed.

"Very well." Oki agreed reluctantly, "What kind of prey would you prefer, Tei?"

An evil smile curled across Tei's face. "Hmm…let me see…" He said slowly, pretending to think about it. "I think I'm in the mood for some horse meat."

"Tei, we already went through this!" Chi protested, "A wolf can't…!"

"You'll get your horse." Oki said, silencing her. "But not till after training…Ume?"

"Let's see…let's see…" Ume said, cackling to himself. Ninetails rolled his eyes. "A sparrow!" He burst out.

"I can catch you anything you want." Ninetails pointed out, "I could catch you a BEAR and you want me to catch you a sparrow?"

"I like sparrows." Ume said, tongue lolling contentedly. "They're tasty and crunchy…plus I wouldn't have to share!"

So that was his plan. Unfortunately, sparrows were small and quick and would fly away if Ninetails came anywhere near them. A bear would have been easier to take on. The fox's eyes lit up with an idea. "Whaddya say I catch you that sparrow some other day? Maybe after we defeat Orochi? It'll be like a reward…" _Maybe he'll forget… _He thought hopefully.

"Okay." Ume agreed happily.

"Enough." Oki said, "We need to train. Everyone line up and we'll train one at a time. Now, fight!"

AND THEN…

They lined up and trained one at a time. And fought. And then there was an awesome training montage set to Rocky music like in the movies.

Ninetails and Tei dueled with fire. Rei worked on his basic skills, as did Chi, who especially worked on using the sun to her advantage. For Shin, Ninetails created an illusion and shrouded him in darkness, but he performed exceptionally well. Ko, Take, Hayabusa, and Ume all trained with their respective elements.

Oki watched as they went, observing their progress. He got a little bored at one point, so he thought he'd make things cooler by adding some narration.

"And so, I witnessed the Canine Warriors train their hardest all throughout the rest of the day…with each hour, they improved even more. In a few short days, they had gone from a disbanded group of mutts to true warriors with a chance of fighting Orochi and winning. As hard as it is to believe, I could feel my confidence in them strengthening…

We just might be able to win this!"

* * *

Later that night…

"Whew! I'm bushed! Aren't you?" Ume yawned, stretching his legs. The dogs had worked hard and were now gathered around a campfire. The night was clear, perfect for camping out under the stars.

"I'm feeling better after a soak in the Mermaid Pond." Hayabusa said, warming his fur in front of the flames.

"Wasn't that cool when Oki caught that horse?" Chi sighed dreamily.

"It tasted good too!" Ko put in, not bothering to apologize to horse lovers everywhere, or the reviewers who so desperately wanted to see Oki hunt.

"Ninetails sure likes to talk a lot when we fight him." Take noted, his head resting contentedly between his paws.

Ninetails looked embarrassed at this statement. "Eh, so I like to jabber a lot during battles. All the best villains do it. Er, not that I'm a villain…" He coughed awkwardly.

"Will Orochi jabber?" Ume asked, completely serious.

"Don't worry." Oki murmured, sitting among the shadows, "Orochi isn't so talkative. He might try to manipulate or intimidate you at the start of the battle, but other than that, no."

Take yawned, more out of boredom than fatigue. "So…what now?"

Oki gave a long sigh, and settled down into the grass, his head resting on his paws, his eyes closed. "Relax. Take a break." He muttered tiredly, "I don't know. Do whatever you want."

"Let's tell SCARY STORIES!" Tei said suddenly, showing all of his teeth, his scars ominously lit up by the fire. Lightning crashed behind him, but that might've been Ninetails's fault for playing around with his sword.

"Oh! Oh! Me first, me first!" Ko yowled, leaping about with excitement, smacking into both Chi and Take. They shot him dirty looks, but he ignored them and began his tale….

"This is the story of the Haunted Shower Dead Dog Thing."

Everyone just stared.

Ko lowered his head, eyes flicking back and forth as if some hideous creature were about to come out of nowhere and scarf down Ume. Then he turned back to the dogs to continue his tale, keeping his voice dramatically lowered, as if anyone who heard this dreaded story would surely become cursed.

"A man was taking a shower late one night. His dog was outside in its pen. It was barking. The man went outside and told it to be quiet. The dog obeyed and the man went back to his shower. But the dog started barking again."

Ko's eyes widened and his voice became nothing more than a whisper.

"So he left to tell it off again. And yet, again. The fourth time, he went out, ready to tell it to quiet down again…but the dog was gone. It was _dead_.

'Humans can lick too.'"

The collie proceeded to sit there with a grave expression on his face. He didn't say anything more. The story was over. A mix of reactions greeted him.

Shin and Take had fallen asleep and were snoring comically. Rei was shivering, and Chi was trying to force a smile. Ume had gone to hide behind Hayabusa, who looked as if he feared more for his friend's sanity rather than the dog in the story. Tei just looked pissed—same as always.

Ninetails was the first one to speak. "That story didn't even make sense! You wanna hear a scary story, move outta the way!"

Ko's jaw dropped in shock, but before he could say anything, Ninetails shoved him from center stage. The masked fox sat himself down and looked at each dog in turn, eyes gleaming. He paused for dramatic effect. Then, he said, "Before I begin, I want all of you to know that this ACTUALLY happened."

"Now THIS sounds scary!" Hayabusa exclaimed, ears perked with anticipation. Ko pouted to the left of him.

"It was the middle of the night. I was alone, heading along Ryoshima Coast. For some time, I knew I was being followed. I tried to hide my fear and quickened my pace, trying to get away from this unknown beast that was pursuing me. But I could feel it closing in. Every ten steps I took matched a single bound of this creature…"

Everyone was totally quiet, completely absorbed in the story. Hayabusa's eyes were wide with fear. Ume and Chi were hugging one another for comfort, while Ko tried to (unsuccessfully) get in on it.

"It was no use." Ninetails went on, "I couldn't outrun it and the path I had been following ended abruptly at a cliff. I halted, my mind racing furiously. The beast was right behind me…I turned around slowly, shaking uncontrollably, to look straight into the gleaming red eyes of this handsome beast. Nine long tails that radiated pure power towered over me. Praying for a miracle, I—"

"Wait a second!" Tei interrupted, "You were being chased by ANOTHER Ninetails?"

"Huh?" Ninetails said, looking baffled. "What are y…oh!" He grinned sheepishly. "No, there's no other Ninetails, I just thought telling the story from Rao's perspective would be scarier."

"Rao?" Rei wondered.

"I take it she's the girl you killed." Take growled, giving off the _I do not approve_ vibe.

"That's right!" Ninetails said, completely oblivious.

Chi inched over to sit next to Take, but her eyes were glued on Ninetails's nine tails. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but…why do your tails have little faces and hoods? I mean, it's cute and all, but…"

"How did you even get nine tails in the first place?" Ume blurted out.

Ninetails reveled in their attention, always glad for an opportunity to boast. "You're so nosy." He sighed, trying to sound nonchalant, "If you must know, I am a kitsune and the more powerful we are, the more tails we have. My tails happen to have the souls of those I've killed in them, hence the faces."

Before anyone could respond, Oki spoke up from his spot away from the fire. "Stop talking and get to sleep. This is the last time you can rest before Orochi."

At this ominous fact, the warriors agreed that sleep sounded like a good idea. So they said their good nights, curled up together, and let sleep take them. As they did, Ninetails slunk over to where Oki was dozing.

"Hey, sorry for bugging you." The kitsune apologized, "Just wondering, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"There is none." Oki mumbled into his paws.

Ninetails's tails went straight up with surprise. "What do you mean?" He said in shock, wondering if he had heard him correctly.

"I'm going to let them have the day off. Visit with their loved ones. I have faith they can come out alive of this battle, but if not…" He trailed off.

"Oh. Well I suppose that makes sense, if you think they're ready. Can I do the same?"

"Of course."

Ninetails reared onto his hind legs, paws flailing with joy. "Awesome! I've been hoping to get back to Ryoshima Coast sometime soon! I left Tobi in charge while I was gone, but that crazy slip of paper likes to throw parties like every other day, so I was thinking I could check up on things. Plus, the little foxes living in the North part of the coast, they're not mine, but I look after them so I might as well stop by and…and…I'm rambling again aren't I, and I can tell you want to sleep, so I guess I'll just shut up."

Oki silently thanked great goddess Amaterasu. He lifted his head groggily. "Ninetails. You may go. Meet back at the top of Kamiki Village, tomorrow night at moon high. Now please…let me rest…" He laid his head back down and curled into a tight ball of blue and red fur.

Ninetails paused, frowning. Then he mumbled, "All right, see you then." And padded away, leaving for his own destination.

**The story Ko tells is a story I made up and told when I was really little and I thought it was terrifying for some reason. I looked up other horror stories to see if I had gotten it from anywhere, but the closest thing I found was something about how an old woman's dog would lick her hand every night but then the dog was killed by a robber, and the robber licked the lady's hand instead, and wrote on her wall in the dog's blood 'humans can lick too.' Kind of ridiculous. So I mashed those two together and that's how Ko came up with his brilliant horror story. **


	10. Night of the Festival

**We're almost to the end! Woooo! I was just looking at my story stats and I was surprised to see this is one of my most popular stories. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**

Hours passed, and the final night before the full moon came to an end. The sun peeked over the horizon, casting a warm glow on the earth and the stars melted away into a clear blue sky.

The Canine Warriors stretched their sore limbs, waking from their comfortable slumber. Then they sat up and looked at the sunrise in awe. "Wow!" Hayabusa said, putting voice to their thoughts, "What a beautiful sunrise!"

"Let's do this!" Ume yelped, leaping about excitedly, punching the air with his paws. "I'm totally ready to train today…"

"Sorry, but we won't be training today. Yesterday was our last day." The surprised canines turned to see Oki, padding up with the neck of a doe clutched in his jaws. He set the prey before them. They didn't even seem to take notice—they were too shocked by his announcement.

"What?" Tei stammered, "But…what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to let you do what you want." Oki replied calmly, "Visit with your loved ones. Head back to your homes. You have the whole day to yourselves."

"Oh my gosh!" Chi gasped. "Yesss!" "Awesome!" Ume and Hayabusa exchanged a grin. Even Take looked excited, as well as Ko. Rei and Shin looked uncertain, while Tei looked downright pissed—y'know, same as always.

"Hold it!" Oki growled, "Before you leave, make sure you meet back at the top of Kamiki Village at moon high. Also, try to travel in groups. I don't want any of you getting snapped up by a monster."

Everyone smirked at Ume, who looked embarrassed.

"I'll see you then." Oki said, turning to walk away, "Don't be late."

"Bye Oki…!" Chi called after him.

After Oki left, they settled down to eat the breakfast he had caught for them. Once they had finished, they prepared their departure.

"Okay," Tei said, narrowing his eyes, still displeased at the thought of going home, "so we'll split up into groups. Whoever wants to go to Kusa Village can come with me." Rei and Shin gathered around him.

"Can I come to Sasa Sanctuary with you?" Chi asked, smiling at Take, "There's nothing for me in Kusa…"

"Sure." The husky said with a shrug.

"Um, I'll come too because, uh, I love Ch—err, hot springs." Ko stammered, waving his paws awkwardly.

"Mind if I stick with you till we get to Agata?" Hayabusa said to Ume, tail wagging.

"Oh boy! It's gonna be so much fun!" The Shiba Inu could barely contain his excitement. Without a minute to lose, the two dogs sprinted away from the others.

"Well, see you all tonight!" Hayabusa barked.

"Road trip!" Ume squealed.

Tei, greatly annoyed, roared after them, "It's not a road trip, YOU FOOL!"

"Shut up, Tei!" "You fool!"

"Come back and say that to my face you mangy-!"

"Now Tei, remember your blood pressure…" Rei warned, trying to calm his angry alpha. During this, the Sasa trio had left quietly. Chi and Take were already deep in a conversation. Ko pouted as he walked a few feet behind them.

"…not looking forward to seeing my owner." Take grumbled, "He's a nuisance. I would hide and sleep inside bamboo to escape him sometimes."

"No way!" Chi said happily, "I've slept in bamboo too! Outside Mr. Bamboo's house."

"Really?"

Ko grimaced from behind them. He wanted Chi all to himself. Why did this annoying husky have to come along on _their_ trip? Oh right, he lived in the sanctuary. Well…why did he have to come along on _their_ trip?

"Ko?"

"Huh?" Chi's voiced snapped him out of it. She had paused to turn around.

"You don't have to walk behind us like that. Come and join in the conversation!" She smiled. Ko felt his fur turn hot.

"Um…okay."

"Great! So what were we talking about?"

* * *

Tei, Rei, and Shin had made it back to Kusa Village in no time. Now the latter two were standing on one of the cliffs, enjoying the breeze that whipped up their fur.

"It's been a while since we've been back here, huh?" Rei sighed, "I wonder where Tei went…"

"Probably to go see Princess Fuse. He's a suck-up." Shin snorted, "I'm gonna go take a nap somewhere. There's a really nice flower patch around here…"

"Hmm…guess I'll find some food."

"See ya."

"Yeah." The two parted ways for the time being. Rei heaved another sad sigh. _There's nothing in this village for me to come back to. All I ever did was hide from the others in caves and eat what I could find._ He dragged himself back to the entrance of the village and sat on his haunches, a morose expression on his face. _Guess I'll just wait here till they're ready to go._

"Hey pooch!" The nearby merchant called out to the Pointer. He knew a depressed doggie when he saw one. "You look awfully hungry. I've got some bones and meat in the back if you're in need of some food." The man reached into a bag and pulled out a large white bone.

Rei immediately brightened up, his stub of a tail wagging shyly. He reached forward to took the bone from the merchant, who gave him a pat on the head. _…Maybe there is something here for me after all._

While Rei made a new friend, Shin had slinked off on his own and found a nice spot for a nap. He buried his face into the bright blue patch of flowers, drawing in their scent. _ Ahh…this is the nicest place in all of Nippon._ He thought dreamily.

There was a sharp gasp from nearby, causing Shin to snap awake. A little girl, who looked awfully familiar, was standing nearby with a watering can. "You're the doggie that always used to sleep in my flower garden!" The girl exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "Where have you been? I missed you, doggie!" She ran forward and wrapped her arms around him.

At first, Shin stiffened up, not used to this sort of attention. But as the girl stroked his dark fur and buried her face into his chest, he relaxed, and a small smile crossed his face…he could get used to this.

Meanwhile, at the top of Kusa Village…

"Rowrf!"

"Oh!" Princess Fuse stood up in surprise and turned around to see an old friend of hers. "Tei…you've returned. Something has changed in you…" She noted.

Tei padded towards her and sat down in front of her. He gave a small whimper and lowered his head.

"Oh, don't be sorry Tei." The princess said, kneeling before him. "I know you have a duty to perform. Don't worry about me…" She gently placed her hand on his chin and lifted his head so that she could look into his one good eye. "I am proud of you and…I shall pray for you tonight."

* * *

"Oh my gosh! Isn't this heaven? This is the nicest hot springs I've ever been to!" Chi oh-my-gawshed excitedly.

"This is the only hot springs I've ever been to." Ko said blankly, staring at his reflection in the warm water. He didn't care much for it.

"Umm, actually it's the first one I've been to too." Chi admitted, "But don't tell the others that! It's embarrassing!"

Ko couldn't see how it was so embarrassing. "Uh…Chi?" The collie said uncertainly.

"Yeah?" Chi smiled, tipping her head to the side questioningly.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you, but…ah…well…"

"Take I missed you SOOO much why did you leave MEEE?" A nearby gigantic sparrow sobbed loudly as he practically molested the struggling husky. Poor Take's eyes were wide with panic as he failed to escape. Ko trailed off. This wasn't a good place to do this.

"Never mind."

* * *

"Woof!" Hayabusa barked as he entered Kamiki Village, announcing his triumphant return to all of its residents. He didn't stop running until he reached the turnip garden. Mushi, his young owner, was sitting with his head between his knees. The boy refused to look at his dog as he walked up to him.

"Oh, it's you." Mushi said, with an angry glare. "Come crawling back now, have you? Thought you'd rub your new friends in my face after being away so long, huh? …You dumb dog!" Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and he hastily wiped them away. "Not like I…missed you or…anything…" He choked out. Hayabusa nuzzled him and the boy wrapped his arms around his beloved pet.

Meanwhile, Ume and Kokari were having a pep talk back in Agata Forest. "All right Ume, good luck on your adventure!" Kokari shouted, fist-pumping the air. "You're gonna be great!"

"Arf!" Ume agreed, jumping up and down enthusiastically. He placed his paws on his owner's chest and covered him in licks.

"I'm real proud of ya boy…" Kokari said, petting the dog's head. Ume wagged his tail, staring fondly into the boy's eyes. Then he placed four paws firmly back onto the ground, and took off. "Come back soon!" Kokari shouted after him waving an arm frantically.

"And whatever you do…DON'T GET EATEN!"

* * *

Night had finally fallen. The full moon was rising. Oki sat at the very top of Kamiki Village on a cliff, watching it climb higher and higher into the sky. Giving into instinct, the blue wolf lifted his nose and let out a long, bone-chilling howl.

"What are you doing?" Hayabusa asked, creeping up to stand behind the Oina warrior.

"Intimidating Orochi with your howling…?" Ume wondered in a hushed voice, eyes shining in the darkness.

"Howling so everyone knows where to meet." Oki told them, eyes searching the village below for any sign of the others.

"That works too, I guess." Ume said, looking disappointed.

"The Kusa gang is here." Hayabusa announced. Sure enough, here came Tei, Rei, and Shin plodding up the hill. "We're back!" Rei said, eyes alight with anticipation.

"Yeah. The Sasa group is coming up the hill behind us. Ninetails is the only one who's not here yet." Tei's eyes narrowed suspiciously as if he wanted to say something more.

"So what was it you were going to tell me earlier?" Chi questioned Ko as they dragged behind Take.

"Oh!" Ko said, frowning, "Um…nothing. When we get done tonight I'll tell you…uh, after we beat Orochi…"

"…Okay?" Chi agreed, obliviously wondering what it could possibly be.

The three settled down with the others. Everyone was now accounted for. Except…

"WHERE is Ninetails?" Tei snarled, gritting his teeth, "He's late!"

"Relax." Oki told him, looking unconcerned, "It hasn't even started yet."

Just then, Ninetails came bounding up the hill. "Wait, wait, here I am!" The kitsune exclaimed, practically out of breath, "Sorry I'm late!"

"So where were you?" Tei growled, glaring at Ninetails as he sat down between him and Ume.

"Well, I won't go into detail, but let's just say I was with a lady…" The fox said with a mischievous grin.

"Aww, yeah! Go Ninetails!" Ume cheered, fist-pounding his buddy. Er…paw-pounding?

Chi was looking doubtful. "Umm, aren't you like, the only one of your kind…?" No one took any notice of her question.

"Shh…" Hayabusa said, eyes wide, ears pricked, "Is everyone here? I think we're ready to start."

Oki lifted his head, eyes scanning the sky. "It's nearly time…"

Out in the distance, over the water, something was happening. Energy crackled through the air like electricity. Dark purple flashes lit up the sky. Then eight shapes appeared—each resembled an element that Orochi controlled. The eight balls of energy circled each other and combined in a great flash of light. Out of these, a pure white arrow formed.

The arrow hovered there for no more than three seconds, and then went shrieking across the night sky. The warriors were mesmerized by it. With a dull twanging sound, it touched down on the other side of a cliff rather than in the village below them.

"The arrow has chosen the sacrifice for Orochi!" Rei cried out, as if he could not believe it.

"It touched down by Sakuya's Tree!" Hayabusa said, fur fluffed up with fear, "Why didn't it hit Kushi's house?"

"This is very strange." Oki agreed, "Follow me, and stay close." He took off down the hill and the others followed closely behind. They came to a halt in the Guardian Sapling's clearing.

"There! On that rock by the Guardian Tree!"

Sure enough, the arrow was firmly lodged into a flat, gray rock.

"That's weird." Take said, pointing out the obvious, "Nothing lives in that rock."

"Maybe Sakuya was picked as the sacrifice? But I don't think that'd work…" Hayabusa paused to think about it. Then he turned to their leader. "Oki…what's wrong…?"

Oki said nothing; he just stared straight at the arrow, eyes wide. He seemed frozen in time. Then, in one quick movement, he whipped around and bolted away from them.

"Oki?" Chi cried out.

"Oki!" They called after him, stunned. "Where are you going?"

The wolf didn't respond. He just kept running.

"No time for questions, just GO!" Ninetails yowled, nudging all of the dogs to get them going. Shaking off their shock, the eight canines sprinted after him as fast as they could go.

Mushi, hidden in the shadows, watched them exit the village. "…Good luck, everyone." The boy murmured, watching Hayabusa until he had disappeared into the dark of night.

Ninetails, forcing his long limbs into even longer strides, caught up with Oki. As he struggled to keep pace with him, he gasped out, "Oki, you HAVE to slow down! The Canine Warriors are falling behind! What's gotten into you?"

Oki, teeth clenched, nostrils flaring, didn't say a word.

"Okiiiii!" The warriors yowled from way back. They could keep up no longer and came to a halt, chests heaving.

"W-Why isn't he w-waiting for us?" Chi panted.

"He's almost to the Moon Cave and showing no sign of stopping…" Take said breathlessly.

"Grab him, Ninetails!" Ume screamed.

The fox heard him and clamped down on Oki's tail. Oki froze on the spot and stood there, his neck fur rising dangerously. "Let go of me, Ninetails." The wolf said in a guttural snarl, without turning his head. "Let go of me NOW."

Ninetails's eyes widened at this, but he refused to let go. "Oki ya gotta stop, I'm sorry, you're not thinking straight!" The masked kitsune cried out as he tried to restrain Oki in any way possible. "Forgive me, we gotta wait for the others!" He then managed to shove the Oina warrior beneath him and sat down. Oki struggled from underneath Ninetails's butt.

The warriors finally made their way to where Ninetails waited, in front of the cave. "Okay, we're all here." Tei said wearily, eyes scanning his pack.

"Good. Let's take a quick breather." Ninetails sighed.

"You don't understand, Ninetails…" Oki panted from beneath the fox, "I NEED to get in there." His scoured his claws along the ground, trying to free himself, but to no avail. Ninetails frowned down at him.

"Well you sure aren't going to run in there all wide-eyed and disheveled." He told the bedraggled wolf firmly, "I won't let you. You're going to walk in there honorably, with the rest of us, with your head held high." He got up and let his friend stand up. Oki scrambled to his feet, an unreadable expression on his face. Ninetails placed a paw on his shoulder. "Now c'mon."

Oki's lip curled back into a snarl. "Don't tell me what to do." Then he shot away from them and melted into the darkness of the cave.

Ninetails heaved a sigh and turned to face the Canine Warriors. Disappointment was clear on everyone's face. "The time has come, warriors." He told them, "Don't let this affect your fight performance."

Then the warriors, heads held high with courage, descended into the darkness, ready to face the fight of their lives. Fear plucked at their hearts, but they brushed it aside. If they died tonight, they would die honorably, with no regrets. Together, they entered Orochi's keep, climbing a rocky slope that would lead them to their fate…

"Orochi's just over this ridge." Ninetails murmured, "Then you'll have to separate and fight your assigned head. Are you all ready for this?"

Each and every warrior looked at one another, taking in their companions one last time. Tei spoke for all of them. "Even separated, the Canine Warrior's hearts beat as one. Now, we shall fight as one."

Their hearts swelled with pride at these words.

They were ready.

Ninetails nodded and turned to look up the slope. At the top was a familiar shape. "Hm? It's Oki!" Shocked, everyone scrambled up to stand beside him. The wolf didn't take any notice of them. His tail was erect, his fur stiffened. His teeth were bared and his eyes flickered with rage and fear.

"Oki!" Chi greeted, oblivious.

"Why are you…" Ume trailed off, stopping in his tracks.

"…Whoa."

Orochi.

He was even more terrifying than they could have ever imagined. His mere presence cast an ominous red glow onto the night sky. Each massive head had two piercing eyes and long rows of needlepointed teeth. Their thick scales were covered in even thicker armor. Suddenly, the prospect of winning seemed…impossible.

At least each head wore a nice little hat, according to which element they possessed—that would make identifying their opponents much easier.

But Oki didn't even seem to be _looking_ at the terror that was Orochi. In fact, he seemed as if he were looking straight past him. At the center of Orochi's impenetrable body, there was what seemed to be a small shrine with a bell on it. Oki could not tear his eyes away from it.

Orochi's main head, the Fire head, weaved back and forth, making it almost impossible to see past him. Suddenly, he thrust his face forward so that it was directly in front of Oki's.

"If it isn't the blue wolf that tried to kill me so long ago." The serpent hissed in a deep, paralyzing voice. "You really think you stand a chance against me after that humiliating defeat 101 years ago?" Oki seemed unphased.

The great monster drew back with a chuckle. He turned his head to look behind him at the bell shrine. "A shame that great Amaterasu will not be able to save your life this time around…" Then he shifted to the side so that all could see…

A snarl full of hatred ripped from Oki's throat. The Canine Warriors gasped as shock gripped them. Even Ninetails's eyes went wide.

There, unmoving, fur a startling white, lay Amaterasu and her little son…


End file.
